Fate of native and introduced seeds consumed by captive white-lipped and collared peccaries (Tayassu pecari, Link 1795 and Pecari tajacu, Linnaeus 1758) in the Atlantic rainforest, Brazil

Abstract

We studied the role of white-lipped and collared peccaries (Tayassu pecari and Pecari tajacu) as seed predators and dispersers in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil. The Atlantic rainforest ecosystem is highly threatened and has experienced dramatic declines in its populations of large mammals. Local extinctions can disrupt essential plant-animal interactions such as seed dispersion and seed predation. We tracked seeds from time of consumption to germination to assess the direct impact peccaries have on seed survival. We offered fruits of 20 species found in the Atlantic rainforest to the peccaries. Seeds were categorised as intact, scarified, ingested or defecated, and germination tests were performed. The overall impact by both peccary species was similar. Seeds were sometime scarified by mastication, always with fatal consequences. Most seeds that were consumed were destroyed during ingestion and digestion. Only small seeds (<10 mm) were found in the feces and germination tests suggest a positive effect from the passage through the guts. Peccaries clearly have a double role as both seed predators and as small seeds dispersers, which is a specialised role within the granivore/frugivore community of the Atlantic rainforest.Keywords: seed dispersal, seed predation, peccaries, Tayassuidae, Atlantic rainforest. Destino das sementes consumidas por queixadas e catetos (Tayassu pecari e Pecari tajacu) na Mata Atlântica, BrasilResumo O papel dos porcos-do-mato, cateto (Pecari tajacu) e queixada (Tayassu pecari), como predadores e dispersores de sementes foram estudados no contexto da Mata Atlântica. Neste ecossistema extremamente ameaçado, as populações de grande mamíferos vêm diminuindo drasticamente. A extinção local de algumas dessas espécies pode modificar as interações plantas-animais como a dispersão e a predação de sementes. Sementes de 20 espécies de plantas lenhosas da Mata Atlântica foram acompanhadas desde a ingestão até a germinação para avaliar o impacto direto que queixadas e catetos têm sobre a sobrevivência destas sementes. As sementes foram categorizadas em: ignoradas, escarificadas (danos mecânicos), engolidas ou defecadas. Também foram realizados testes de germinação. O impacto das duas espécies de foi similar. Às vezes, as sementes foram escarificadas por mastigação, com consequências letais. A maioria das sementes consumidas foi destruída durante a ingestão e digestão. Somente sementes pequenas (<10 mm) foram defecadas. Os testes de germinação sugerem um impacto positivo nas sementes que passaram pelo trato digestivo. Os porcos desempenham claramente um papel duplo: predadores de sementes e dispersores de sementes pequenas, um papel especializado dentro da communidade de frugívoros/granívoros na Mata Atlântica.Palavras-chave: dispersão de sementes, predação de sementes, porcos-do-mato, Tayassuidae, Mata Atlântica.

Loss of mammalian species from the South American Gran Chaco: empty savanna syndrome?

“…The peccaries Pecari tajacu and Tayassu pecari are considered seed predators and dispersers via endozoochory of small seeds, expectoration of large seeds and epizoochory (Beck , Lazure et al. ). The original range of the peccaries in the so‐called impenetrable portion of the Argentine Chaco, an area of 4 million hectares in the semiarid Chaco, has been reduced by 68% (Altrichter & Boaglio ).…”

Group dynamics, behavior, and current and historical abundance of peccaries in Costa Rica's Caribbean lowlands

“…Peccaries are ecologically important because they act as ecosystem engineers (Keuroghlian and Eaton 2009;Beck et al 2010), modify plant diversity and composition by trampling seedlings (Beck 2007), and act as seed predators (Bodmer 1991;Beck and Terborgh 2002;Kuprewicz and García-Robledo 2010) and seed dispersers (Beck 2006 Lazure et al 2010). Peccaries consume a wide variety of food items throughout their range, but in the tropics they primarily eat fruits, seeds (especially palms), pulp, roots, tubers, and occasionally animals (Kiltie 1981;Olmos 1993; Barreto et al 1997;Altrichter et al 2001;Beck 2006).…”

A Critically Endangered Capuchin Monkey (Sapajus xanthosternos) Living in a Highly Fragmented Hotspot

“…xanthosternos faeces still intact, but yellow-breasted capuchin monkeys were never observed swallowing seeds of oil-palm. In fact, cocoa seeds (3.0 ± 0.09 cm) (Chandel et al 1995 ) and jackfruit seeds (3.1 ± 0.2 cm) (Lazure et al 2010 ) are on the upper-limit size of seeds ingested by Cebus (<3 cm, Wehncke et al 2003 ), which might not be different from Sapajus due to their morphological similarities. It is possible they could be dispersing invasive species around a protected area.…”