Diet of Procyon cancrivorus (Carnivora, Procyonidae) in restinga and estuarine environments of southern Brazil


Autoria(s): Quintela,Fernando M.; Iob,Graziela; Artioli,Luiz G. S.
Data(s)

01/06/2014

Resumo

Despite its wide range and abundance on certain habitats, the crab-eating raccoon Procyon cancrivorus (G. Cuvier, 1798) is considered one of the less known Neotropical carnivore species. In the present study we analyzed the diet of P. cancrivorus in a peat forest and in an estuarine island in southernmost Brazil. Fruits of the gerivá palm tree Syagrus romanzoffiana were the most consumed item in the peat forest, followed by insects and mollusks. Small mammals, followed by Bromelia antiacantha (Bromeliaceae) fruits and brachyuran crustaceans were the most frequent items in the estuarine island. Other items found in lower frequencies were Solanum sp., Psidium sp., Smilax sp. and Dyospiros sp. fruits, diplopods, scorpions, fishes, anuran amphibians, reptiles (black tegu lizard and snakes), birds and medium-sized mammals (white-eared opossum, armadillo and coypu). Levin’s index values (peat forest: 0.38; estuarine island: 0.45) indicate an approximation to a median position between a specialist and a well distributed diet. Pianka’s index (0.80) showed a considerable diet similarity between the two systems. Procyon cancrivorus presented a varied diet in the studied areas and may play an important role as seed disperser on coastal environments in southernmost Brazil.

Formato

text/html

Identificador

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0073-47212014000200003

Idioma(s)

en

Publicador

Fundação Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul

Fonte

Iheringia. Série Zoologia v.104 n.2 2014

Palavras-Chave #Bromelia antiacantha #crab-eating racoon #feeding habits #subtropical Brazil #Syagrus romanzoffiana
Tipo

journal article