Food patch structure and plant resource partitioning in interspecific associations of amazonian tamarins |
| |
Authors: | Peres Carlos A |
| |
Institution: | (1) CSERGE, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, NR4 7TJ Norwich, UK |
| |
Abstract: | ávila-Pires’ saddle-back tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis avilapiresi) and red-cap moustached tamarins (S. mystax pileatus), coexisting in highly stable mixed-species groups, overlapped considerably in their use of plant food resources at an Amazonian
terra firme forest site. Overlap between food types consumed by the two species was particularly high during periods of lowest
fruit availability, when they resorted to a common food supply, primarily the pod exudates of two emergent species of legume
trees (Parkia nitida andParkia pendula) and nectar ofSymphonia globulifera. Within-group interspecific competition did not covary with independent measures of resource availability, contrary to predictions
based on resource partitioning models. A greater number of both saddle-back and moustached tamarins were able to feed for
longer patch residence periods within larger and more productive food patches, whereas small and clumped patches could be
monopolized by the socially and numerically dominant moustached tamarins to the physical exclusion of the smaller-bodied saddle-back
tamarins. Overall rates of interspecific aggression were extremely low, however, partly because patches that could be monopolized
contributed with a minor proportion of either species’ diet. Saddle-backs foraged at lower levels in the understory and encountered
smaller food patches more often, whereas moustached tamarins foraged higher and encountered more larger patches in the middle
canopy. Although the two species led one another to differently-sized patches, moustached tamarins initiated most feeding
bouts and encountered significantly larger and more productive patches that tended to accommodate the entire mixed-species
group. Disadvantages of exploitative and interference feeding competition over plant resources, and advantages of shared knowledge
of food patches, are but one component of the overall cost-benefit relationship of interspecific associations in tamarins. |
| |
Keywords: | Saguinus food patch resource partitioning mixed-species groups Amazonia |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|