Diet and seed dispersion of the crab-eaten fox, Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus, 1766) in Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Authors

  • Daniel Santana Lorenzo Raíces
  • Helena de Godoy Bergallo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4013/4738

Abstract

This article aims to investigate the diet and seed dispersion of the crab-eaten fox, Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus, 1766), in the Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil trough the analysis of fecal samples collected in two seasons of the year. During a period of four years, 28 fecal samples of Cerdocyon thous were collected in different parts of Restinga de Jurubatiba, being 19 out of them from dry season and nine from rainy season. In each season and between seasons, data analysis showed that invertebrates, vertebrates and fruits consumption did not significantly differ. Among vertebrates, mammals were the most eaten item (50%) in relation to reptiles (43%) and birds (32%). The rice-rat, Cerradomys subfl avus, and the collared-lizard, Tropidurus torquatus, were mainly eaten during the rainy season, whereas birds, during the dry season. Furthermore, the only item identified that differed among seasons was the lizard Tropidurus torquatus that appeared in 77.8% of samples derived from the rainy season and 21.0%, in those from the dry season, with a total frequency of 39.3%. In relation to seed dispersion, five species found in lees were identified and their viabilities were evaluated through germination tests in Petri dishes. Excepting for Brazilian cherry (pitanga), Eugenia umbelliflora, from which 56% of the seeds germinated, no other seed species consumed have germinated after passing through the C. thous digestive tract.

Key words: Cerdocyon thous, diet, vertebrates, Tropidurus torquatus, digestive tract, seeds.

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Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2010): January/April

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Articles

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