| Plant food resources and the diet of a parrot community in a gallery forest of the southern Pantanal (Brazil). | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 17299937 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Neotropical parrots usually forage in forest canopies for nectar, flowers, leaves, fruit pulp, and seeds. As they have no all-purpose territories, these birds usually exploit vegetation mosaics in order to use plentiful resources as they become available. In this study we examine the use of a gallery forest in the southern Pantanal (Brazil) by a diverse parrot community that ranged from Brotogeris chiriri (a small species) to Ara chloroptera (a large one). Plant food resources principally used by parrots were abundantly available during the rainy season (fleshy fruits), the annual floods (fleshy fruits), and the dry season (flowers). While both smaller and larger species foraged on fruits, parakeets largely consumed the pulp, while larger parrot species used pulp and seeds. In the dry season parakeets foraged extensively on nectar, especially Inga vera nectar that was abundantly available during the last two months of the dry season, the harshest period of the year. Among larger parrots, only Propyrrhura auricollis frequently harvested nectar. Fruits maturing during floods, despite being fish- or water- dispersed were extensively used by the parrots. Hence, unlike what happens in most other Neotropical dry forests, occurrence of a fruiting peak during the annual flooding, which occurs in the transition from the wet to the dry season, constitutes an extra and significant episode of food availability, since in this period, fruit production normally declines. Therefore, the unique and abundant availability of flowers and fruits in this gallery forest may account for the presence of large parrot populations in the southern Pantanal. |
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Authors:
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J Ragusa-Netto; A Fecchio |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Brazilian journal of biology = Revista brasleira de biologia Volume: 66 ISSN: 1519-6984 ISO Abbreviation: Braz J Biol Publication Date: 2006 Nov |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2007-02-15 Completed Date: 2007-07-30 Revised Date: 2007-09-06 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 101129542 Medline TA: Braz J Biol Country: Brazil |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 1021-32 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Departamento de Ciências Naturais, Campus Três Lagoas, UFMS, C. P. 210, CEP 79600-000, Três Lagoas, MS, Brazil. forpus@ceul.ufms.br |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Animals Brazil Food Habits / physiology* Parrots / physiology* Plants, Edible / classification* Trees* |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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