The impact of anthropogenic food supply on fruit consumption by dusky-legged guan (Penelope obscura Temminck, 1815): potential effects on seed dispersal in an Atlantic forest area

Abstract

Frugivorous birds are important seed dispersers and influence the recruitment of many plant species in the rainforest. The efficiency of this dispersal generally depends on environment quality, bird species, richness and diversity of resources, and low levels of anthropogenic disturbance. In this study, we compared the sighting number of dusky-legged guans (Penelope obscura) by km and their movement in two areas of Serra do Japi, one around the administrative base (Base) where birds received anthropogenic food and a pristine area (DAE) with no anthropogenic resource. We also compared the richness of native seeds in feces of birds living in these two areas. Although the abundance of P. obscura was higher in the Base, these individuals moved less, dispersed 80% fewer species of plants and consumed 30% fewer seeds than individuals from DAE. The rarefaction indicated a low richness in the frugivorous diet of birds from the Base when compared to the populations from DAE. We conclude that human food supply can interfere in the behavior of these birds and in the richness of native seeds dispersed.

The influence of provisioning on animal‐mediated seed dispersal

“…Provisioned wildlife usually reduce their intake of fruits from native plant species, and their visitation rates to fruiting trees thus decrease. Provisioning-induced decreases in frugivory have been confirmed for guans Penelope obscura in Brazil (Vasconcellos-Neto et al 2015), flying foxes in Fiji (Luskin 2010) and macaques in India (Sengupta et al 2015;Fig. 1).…”

“…Our understanding in this regard, however, is limited because the impact of provisioning on seed dispersal is largely understudied. To our knowledge, only four studies have directly documented how provisioning alters the role of wildlife as seed dispersers (Sengupta et al 2015, Vasconcellos‐Neto et al 2015, Nereoh 2016, Carpenter et al 2019; Fig. 1a–b).…”

Caça e dieta do Jacu do nordeste (Penelope jacucaca) na Caatinga do Ceará e Paraíba, Brasil

“…Legenda: F = frequência; F% = frequência relativa; N = abundância; N% = abundância relativa; P = peso (g); P% = peso relativo (g); IVI = índice de importância relativa. (Théry et al 1992;Zaca et al 2006;Vasconcellos-Neto et al 2015), sugerindo que jacus utilizam oportunisticamente os recursos alimentares disponíveis no ambiente.…”

“…Por outro lado, a presença de áreas de culturas pode servir como alternativas de alimentos de P. jacucaca, como foi relatado para outras espécies do gênero, como P. obscura (Vasconcellos-Neto et al 2015) e P. perspicax . Desta forma, a presença de uma matriz heterogênea, composta por atividades agrícolas típicas da região (agricultura familiar), circundando os fragmentos florestais, não é principal ameaça à conservação de P.…”