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Intraspecific, interspecific, and seasonal differences in the diet of three mid-sized carnivores in a large neotropical wetland

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Abstract

The diet and partitioning of food resources among mid-sized mammalian carnivores is poorly known, especially in the tropics. We evaluated the resource partitioning between Leopardus pardalis (ocelot), Cerdocyon thous (crab-eating fox), and Nasua nasua (brown-nosed coati) in the Pantanal of Brazil. Between December 2005 and February 2008, we collected data necessary to better understand interspecific, intraspecific, and seasonal variability in diet. Food habits were assessed by analysis of feces (n = 293) collected from known individuals (n = 128), and differences in dietary composition were evaluated through nonmetric dimensional scaling using the Jaccard similarity index. The main diet differences were observed between the specialist ocelot and the more generalist crab-eating fox and brown-nosed coati. Crab-eating foxes and brown-nosed coatis preyed on arthropods, fruits, and vertebrates whereas ocelots preyed almost entirely on vertebrates, mainly rodents and snakes. Ocelots’ consumption of snakes was the highest ever recorded, as was the extent of carnivory by brown-nosed coatis. For the crab-eating fox and the brown-nosed coati, there were large differences between the use of fruits and animal foods in the wet and dry season. Yet for both species there were no significant differences in the diets of males and females. Despite the conspicuous sexual dimorphism and spatial segregation that are typical of brown-nosed coatis, the results do not support the hypothesis that size dimorphism is primarily an adaptation to reduce intersexual competition for food. Rather, dimorphisms and patterns of space use may be more related to competition among males for access to females.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the trainees and Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária/Pantanal (Embrapa) workers for their assistance with the field work. Funds were provided by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (process No. 484501/2006-2), Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul (process No. 6654.235.476.06032007), Embrapa Macroprograma, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), and Embrapa Pantanal. Doctoral grants were provided by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) to R.C. Bianchi and by the University of Missouri to N. Olifiers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biologia Aplicada à Agropecuária, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Jaboticabal, 14884-900, SP, Brazil

    Rita de Cassia Bianchi

  2. Laboratório de Ecologia Terrestre Animal, UFSC, 88040-900, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil

    Renata Calixto Campos

  3. Departamento de Ciências do Ambiente, UFMS, Corumbá, 79304-902, MS, Brazil

    Nilson Lino Xavier-Filho

  4. Laboratório de Biologia e Parasitologia de Mamíferos Silvestres Reservatórios, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Av. Brasil, 4365 Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, 21040-900 RJ, Brazil

    Natalie Olifiers

  5. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211-7240, USA

    Matthew E. Gompper

  6. Laboratório de Fauna Silvestre, Centro de Pesquisa Agropecuária do Pantanal, Embrapa/Pantanal, Rua 21 de Setembro, 1880, Corumbá, MS, 79320-900, Brazil

    Guilherme Mourão

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  1. Rita de Cassia Bianchi
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  2. Renata Calixto Campos
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  3. Nilson Lino Xavier-Filho
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  4. Natalie Olifiers
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  5. Matthew E. Gompper
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Correspondence to Rita de Cassia Bianchi.

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Communicated by: Matthew W. Hayward

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Bianchi, R., Campos, R.C., Xavier-Filho, N.L. et al. Intraspecific, interspecific, and seasonal differences in the diet of three mid-sized carnivores in a large neotropical wetland. Acta Theriol 59, 13–23 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-013-0137-x

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