Food preference of giant anteater and collared anteater (Pilosa, Myrmecophagidae) regarding the termite defense strategies
| Autor: | Thiago de Santana Santos, Lucas S Arruda, Anna Carolina Prestes, Divino Brandão, Tiago F. Carrijo, Pollyane Barbosa Rezende, Hélida Ferreira da Cunha |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
| Předmět: |
Tamandua
Anteater biology Ecology QH301-705.5 Pilosa Zoology Tamandua tetradactyla Agriculture Biological Sciences biology.organism_classification Isoptera. Ants. Cerrado. Zoo. Stomach contents Food preference Nest isoptera. ants. cerrado. zoo. stomach contents biology.animal Myrmecophagidae Nasutitermes Giant anteater Biology (General) General Agricultural and Biological Sciences |
| Zdroj: | Bioscience Journal, Vol 31, Iss 1 (2014) Universidade Federal de Uberlândia-Portal de Periódicos Bioscience Journal ; Vol. 31 No. 1 (2015): Jan./Feb.; 234-241 Bioscience Journal ; v. 31 n. 1 (2015): Jan./Feb.; 234-241 Bioscience journal Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU) instacron:UFU |
| ISSN: | 1981-3163 |
| Popis: | Giant ( Myrmecophaga tridactyla ) and collared anteaters ( Tamandua tetradactyla ) are common mammals in the Cerrado biome. They are specialized in eating termites (Isoptera, Blattaria) and ants (Formicidae, Hymenoptera). This study tested the preference of the giant anteater for termites with different defense strategies: 1) soldier with chemical defense and a soft nest ( Nasutitermes ), and 2) soldier with mixed defenses - chemical and mechanical - and a hard nest ( Cornitermes ). Pieces of nests of both genera of termites were provided to captive giant anteaters, their behaviors were observed, and the time spent feeding in each termite nests was recorded. The anteaters exploited both termite species, although no significance difference was found, they spent more time feeding on Cornitermes than on Nasutitermes . The stomach contents of one road-killed giant anteater and one collared anteater were analyzed. The collared anteater fed on a wider diversity of termite species with different defense strategies, but showed a preference for Cornitermes . We argue that the preference of anteaters for a termite species that has a harder nest, and soldiers with mixed defense, may be due to the presence of terpenoids in the chemical apparatus of Nasutitermes , absent in Cornitermes . Also, the much higher proportion of soldiers in Nasutitermes may influence the anteaters' choice. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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