Differential detectability of rodents and birds in scats of ocelots, Leopardus pardalis (Mammalia: Felidae)

Pires, Mathias M.; Widmer, Cynthia Elisa; Silva, Claudio; Setz, Eleonore Zulnara Freire

doi:10.1590/s1984-46702011000200019

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…This apparently greater consumption of mammals compared with other vertebrate classes could be an artefact related to faecal analysis. Differential digestion rates lead to variation in detectability between groups of prey, generally biasing the results, with reduced FOs for birds, for example (Pires et al 2011). In the studies we compiled, amphibians, for instance, were detected in the analysis of stomach contents, but have not been reported in any analysis of scats of the same predator species, which is in accordance with the results found by Woinarski et al (2020) for domestic cats in Australia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unless stated otherwise, analyses were restricted to mammalian and invertebrate prey, because some of the studies were focused on reporting mammalian prey or invertebrate consumption only, ignoring other vertebrate classes. Moreover, digestion of other vertebrate prey is often faster, so that prey remains are less likely to be detected or identified in scats in the same proportion as mammalian prey (Pires et al 2011), leading to unreliable FO estimates.…”

Section: General Patterns In Prey Usementioning

confidence: 99%

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The geography of diet variation in Neotropical Carnivora

Cruz

Muylaert

Galetti³

et al. 2021

Mammal Review

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1. Mammalian carnivores (order Carnivora) perform important regulatory functions in terrestrial food webs. Building a comprehensive knowledge of the dietary patterns of carnivorans and the factors determining such patterns is essential for improving our understanding of the role of carnivorans in ecosystem functioning. 2. In the Neotropics, there are 64 extant species of terrestrial Carnivora, but information on their trophic ecology is diffuse. We compiled and analysed the available quantitative dietary data for Neotropical carnivorans, aiming to detect patterns of intraspecific and interspecific dietary variation at a large geographical scale. 3. The resulting database encompasses information on trophic interactions of 37 native carnivoran species from six families across 14 countries. There are clear geographical biases towards southern Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, and a noticeable knowledge gap within the Amazon. Also, most studies are focused on canids and felids, especially Puma concolor, Panthera onca, Cerdocyon thous, Leopardus pardalis, and Chrysocyon brachyurus, whereas for 27 native species, we found no quantitative dietary information. 4. Neotropical carnivorans consume species from at least 651 genera of vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. We found clear species-specific dietary patterns and marked differences between Neotropical felids and canids. Although predators generally exhibit high levels of consistency in their diets regarding prey body mass, we detected significant intraspecific variation for all species analysed across study sites. 5. Body mass imposes strong constraints on prey use, but biogeographical differences in prey availability and human influence may drive the geographical variation we found. Overall, observed patterns show not only similarities with resource-use patterns found for carnivorans in other continents, such as nestedness driven by body mass, but also differences, such as high levels of frugivory and consumption of invertebrates by canids. Assessing resource-use patterns is

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: General Patterns In Prey Usementioning

confidence: 99%

The geography of diet variation in Neotropical Carnivora

Cruz

Muylaert

Galetti³

et al. 2021

Mammal Review

Self Cite

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“…These factors also affect the degree to which bones and teeth are digested (Kelly and Garton 1997). Furthermore, Pires et al (2011) showed that the digestion of bones and teeth may also vary from one individual to another, which suggests that these items are not reliable indicators of prey in feces. Alternatively, several authors suggest that the identification of hairs of prey provides a good basis for reconstructing the diet (Liberg 1982, Gamberg and Atkinson 1988, Kelly and Garton 1997) because hair is more difficult to digest (Leprince et al 1980).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Domestic cat predation on Neotropical species in an insular Atlantic Forest remnant in southeastern Brazil

2014

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The domestic cat Felis silvestris catus is considered a potential threat to the native fauna of regions it populates, particularly when it has free access to these areas. Although this problem is known in Brazil, little is known regarding the effects of this species on natural areas. This study aimed to obtain information concerning the diet of domestic cats by identifying the main items found in fecal samples from domestic cats. In addition, the effects of seasonality on the diet were examined, as it has been hypothesized that seasonal variation of food items has little influence of the diet of the domestic cat. These semi‐domiciled cats are thought to face a constant and continuous supply food offered by their owners throughout the year. Feces were collected in a remnant fragment of an Atlantic Forest located south of the municipality of Ilha Comprida — SP, Brazil. These samples provided important information regarding the dietary ecology and predation behavior of this species in endangered forest areas. The results of the scat content analyses demonstrated that domestic cats inserted in this biome presented a generalist and opportunist diet with little seasonal variation, even when receiving food from their owners. The most frequently consumed groups of prey were insects (20.8%) followed by mammals (13.9%) and birds (4.0%). Although the cat is not the only factor that impacts the species of the region, management programs need to be established in conjunction with the local community with the aim of minimizing the pressure exerted by these animals on the native fauna.

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“…Faecal analysis has limitations, such as the differential digestion of dietary items and the individual variation in the digestion of different prey items (Hume ; Pires et al . ). Nonetheless, faecal analysis is considered reliable for organisms that consume mainly arthropods (Dickman & Huang ) and has the advantage that individuals need not be killed.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Between-individual variation drives the seasonal dynamics in the trophic niche of a Neotropical marsupial

et al. 2012

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The dynamics of population niches result from the variation in resource use within individuals and also from the variation between individuals. The prevalence of one mechanism or the other leads to competing hypotheses about the major mechanisms underlying the empirical observations of the contraction/expansion dynamics of the trophic niche in natural populations. In this study, we investigated how within-and betweenindividual variation in resource use shapes the food niche dynamics of the woolly mouse opossum, Marmosa paraguayana (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae), in a remnant of the highly seasonal Cerrado in south-eastern Brazil. To do so, we analysed the faecal samples of live-trapped individuals to determine their diets within the wet and dry seasons. In addition to a seasonal shift in the composition of the diet, the population trophic niche was significantly wider during the dry season than the wet season. This expansion resulted from larger between-individual variation in the dry season that was not related to sex preferences, whereas the individual niche widths did not significantly increase from the wet to the dry seasons. Our findings add to the growing list of animal populations that show individual-level variation in resource use. Furthermore, these results represent a pattern of individual-level response to seasonal changes that is different from patterns reported for other organisms.We suggest that a pathway to build more realistic foraging models and produce more accurate predictions on population and community dynamics is to consider between-individual variation and short-term niche dynamics.

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Differential detectability of rodents and birds in scats of ocelots, Leopardus pardalis (Mammalia: Felidae)

Cited by 12 publications

References 18 publications

The geography of diet variation in Neotropical Carnivora

The geography of diet variation in Neotropical Carnivora

Domestic cat predation on Neotropical species in an insular Atlantic Forest remnant in southeastern Brazil

Between-individual variation drives the seasonal dynamics in the trophic niche of a Neotropical marsupial

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