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Food habits of the Broad‐snouted Caiman ( Caiman latirostris : Crocodylia, Alligatoridae) in northwestern Uruguay

2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 44; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01650520802507572

1744-5140

Claudio Borteiro, Francisco Luis Giraldo Gutiérrez, Marcelo Tedros, Francisco Kolenc,

Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology

Abstract The food habits of the Broad‐snouted Caiman (Caiman latirostris) were studied in northwestern Uruguay. The most common prey were insects, the shrimp Pseudopalaemon bouvieri, the snail Pomacea canaliculata, fish and birds. Spiders, crabs, amphibians, snakes, turtles and mammals were consumed less frequently. Arthropods were the most frequent prey for juvenile caiman. Fish and snails were consumed by all size classes. The proportion of stomach contents with invertebrates decreased with increasing caiman size, and that with vertebrates was greater in the diet of larger caiman. Diet composition and ontogenetic shift are similar to that of other crocodilians considered as opportunistic generalist predators. Se estudiaron los hábitos alimenticios del Yacaré (Caiman latirostris) en el noroeste de Uruguay. Las presas más comunes fueron insectos, el camarón Pseudopalaemon bouvieri, el caracol Pomacea canaliculata, peces y aves. Arañas, cangrejos, anfibios, serpientes, tortugas y mamíferos fueron consumidos menos frecuentemente. Los artrópodos fueron las presas más frecuentes de juveniles. Peces y aves fueron consumidos por todos los tamaños. La proporción de contenidos estomacales con invertebrados disminuyó al aumentar el tamaño de los caimanes, y la de vertebrados fue mayor en los individuos de mayor tamaño. La composición y cambio ontogenético en la dieta resultan similares a los de crocodilianos considerados predadores generalistas oportunistas. Keywords: Caiman latirostris dietontogenetic shiftUruguay Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank S. Ripoll and M. Silva for their invaluable help during field work, and Cooperativa Azucarea del Litoral Norte Uruguayo (CALNU), landowners and landworkers of Bella Unión for their hospitality. María C. Machado, J.C. Borteiro and H. Etcheverry gave logistic support, G. Speranza, S. Borteiro, M. Letamendía, F. Gagliardi, M. Borteiro, J.M. Venzal, L.A. Chaves and G. de Souza assisted in the field. The suggestions made by W. Magnusson, A. Zillikens and two anonymous referees greatly improved the manuscript. We are grateful to C. Piña, L.M. Verdade, L. Lavarello, A. Ferreira, F. Scarabino and A. Larriera for their comments, to L.M. Verdade, D. Baldo, A.L. Aquino‐Ortiz, G.J.W. Webb and A. Corrent for sharing bibliography, and to O. Castro, E. Morelli, E. Lorier, A. Verdi and M. Simó for the identification of invertebrates. This work was partially funded by CIDEC, Facultad de Veterinaria, and CSIC, Universidad de la República. Caimans were captured under authorization of División Fauna‐MGAP, Uruguay.