Produção Nacional
Revisado por pares
Food habits of the ocelot, Leopardus pardalis , in two areas in southeast Brazil
2010; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 45; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/01650521.2010.514791
ISSN1744-5140
AutoresRita de Cássia Bianchi, Sérgio Lucena Mendes, Paulo de Marco Júnior,
Tópico(s)Evolution and Paleontology Studies
ResumoAbstract The objective of this study was to compare the diet of the ocelot at two sites in southeastern Brazil: the small (957 ha), isolated Caratinga Biological Station (CBS), Minas Gerais and the large (>44,000 ha) contiguous area, comprised of the Vale do Rio Doce Natural Reserve (VRDNR) and the Sooretama Biological Reserve (SBR). We collected 60 scats in CBS from January 1997 to July 2000. Small rodents, small marsupials and primates were the most important items in terms of frequency of occurrence. In terms of biomass consumed, the brown howler monkey (Alouatta guariba) was the most important item. In the VRDNR/SBR we collected 77 scats from April 1995 to September 1996 and from January 1999 to September 2000. The main food items were armadillo (Dasypus sp.), small rodents, teju (Tupinambis merianae), and small marsupials. In VRDNR/SBR the ocelot had a more diverse diet, probably reflecting the diversity of prey species found in this area. The occurrence of ocelots in CBS indicates the adaptive flexibility of this felid to forests fragments, probably facilitated by the high biomass of potential prey – in this case, the primate Alouatta guariba. Keywords: dietFelidaeAtlantic Forest Leopardus pardalis ocelotBrazil Acknowledgements We would like to thank the "O Boticário" Foundation of Nature Protection and the FACITEC for financial support. We are grateful to the Prof. Mello Leitão Biology Museum for technical support, Dr. Albert David Ditchfield, Natalie Olifiers and Dr. Matthew Gompper for valuable comments and kind help with the final English version, and Juliana Quadros for help with the technique of hair slide preparation. We are especially grateful to Patricia Guedes and Alexandre Christoff for the identification of small mammals.
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