Aguilera-Reyes Ulises, Sánchez-Cordero Victor, Ramírez-Pulido José, Monroy-Vilchis Octavio, López Georgina Isabel García, Janczur Mariusz
Centro de Investigación en Recursos Bióticos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Aut6noma del Estado de Mexico, Instituto Literario No. 100 Oriente, Colonia Centro, Toluca, Estado de Mexico 50000. Mexico;
Rev Biol Trop. 2013 Mar;61(1):243-53.
White-tailed deer is a species with a large behavioral plasticity and adaptation to different habitats, including their food habits. This study was conducted with the aim to determine the food habits of this species in the cloud (BMM) and pine-oak (BPE) forests. Deer scats and plant samples were obtained following standard methods, from Sierra Nanchititla Park in the State of Mexico, from June 1990 to May 1992. A total of 104 deer pellet-groups were collected, and histological analysis for herbivores was used and compared with stock samples of plant tissues collected from the study area. We applied the Spearman correlation and Morisita index to determine alimentary preference. The results showed that the deer consumes 79.44% of plant species from BMM and 20.56% of the BPE. There is a selectivity tendency for 12 of the 14 plant species located in the BMM, while for BPE no tendency was observed. Key species that are part of the elemental diet of the deer in these areas were: Acalypha setosa, Smilax pringlei, Psidium sartorianum and Dendropanax arborea. The consumption of plants did not differ significantly between the dry and rainy seasons in terms of biological form, however, during the dry season there is a tendency to consume trees, and by the end of the rainy season to consume herbs. The data indicate that the deer can be selective with BMM plants, while for the BPE tends to be opportunistic.
白尾鹿是一种行为可塑性大且能适应不同栖息地（包括其食性）的物种。本研究旨在确定该物种在云雾林（BMM）和松栎林（BPE）中的食性。1990年6月至1992年5月，按照标准方法从墨西哥州的南奇蒂特拉山公园采集鹿粪便和植物样本。共收集了104个鹿粪堆，采用食草动物组织学分析方法，并与从研究区域采集的植物组织样本进行比较。我们应用斯皮尔曼相关性和莫里西塔指数来确定食物偏好。结果表明，鹿食用了BMM中79.44%的植物物种和BPE中20.56%的植物物种。在BMM中的14种植物中有12种存在选择性倾向，而在BPE中未观察到这种倾向。这些区域中构成鹿基本食物的关键物种有：刺蓖麻、普氏菝葜、萨托里番石榴和乔木八角金盘。就生物形态而言，旱季和雨季鹿对植物的消耗量没有显著差异，然而，在旱季有食用树木的倾向，在雨季末期有食用草本植物的倾向。数据表明，鹿对BMM中的植物具有选择性，而对BPE中的植物则倾向于机会主义。
