Dolichotis patagonum, the Patagonian mara, is a rodent in Dolichotis and Caviidae. Its established wild distribution includes Argentina. Its alternative common name Patagonian hare does not place it in Lagomorpha.[ref]
Dolichotis patagonum in Mammal Diversity Database. Record1001207, common names, taxonomic placement and Argentina
The species is useful for studying communal breeding and how observers estimate animal numbers. Young from multiple pairs can share a warren, while adults visit rather than remaining continuously visible there.[ref]
Communal breeding in the mara, Dolichotis patagonum by A. B. Taber and D. W. Macdonald. Abstract, communal warrens and adult visits
A 2015 study combined an independent search for warrens with video observations of adult attendance. This separated finding gathering places from counting animals associated with them, and examined errors from missed or abandoned warrens and limited observation time.[ref]Sources of Variation in a Two-Step Monitoring Protocol for Species Clustered in Conspicuous Points: Dolichotis patagonum as a Case Study by Virginia Alonso Roldán and others. Abstract and Introduction, two sampling components and sources of variation
An invented model illustrates the distinction between abundance and detection probability. Suppose ten animals are present and each has probability of appearing in a specified observation window. With independent detection, the expected count is , although abundance is ten. A longer window might raise without adding animals. Actual mara visits need not be independent; the calculation states a model and explains why raw counts and population change cannot automatically be equated.
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