Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul - UFMS, Departamento de Ciências Naturais, Três Lagoas, MS, Brasil.
Braz J Biol. 2024 May 24;84:e280711. doi: 10.1590/1519-6984.280711. eCollection 2024.
In the Brazilian Cerrado, the Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloropterus) populations are facing an accelerated rate of habitat loss. Despite this, their feeding areas and primary food sources remain poorly understood. In this study, I assessed the relationship between the diet of the Red-and-green Macaw and available food resources in a habitat mosaic from the fragmented Cerrado in Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. Red-and-green Macaws fed on 20 native and five exotic species, mainly in dry habitats (Cerrado, dry forest, and an urban area along the Maracaju Cliffs) during the dry season, while year-round foraging in the riparian vegetation (Aquidauana River and streams). Then, the number of feeding macaws paralleled variations in food abundance and diversity, besides the number of food species. On the other hand, by using a wide variety of abundant foods, macaws' diet breadth presented high values throughout the year. The seasonal consumption of large-seeded fruits across the habitat mosaic displayed a gradient ranging from the urban area to dry habitats, along which macaws ate from exotic to Cerrado species. In this respect, Terminalia catappa seeds and Mangifera indica fruit pulp were important for Red-and-green Macaws in the urban area during the wet season, while Caryocar brasiliense seeds comprised the same in the Cerrado. At this site, both Dipteryx alata and Buchenavia tomentosa seeds composed much of the Red-and-green Macaws' diet during the dry season. Between those habitats, in the watercourse vegetation, macaws frequently foraged on palm fruits across seasons. Therefore, throughout the year, the abundance and variety of food resources strongly influenced the number of foraging Red-and-green Macaws across the habitat mosaic. Understanding the effect of varying seed availability on the spatial and temporal abundance patterns of Red-and-green Macaws, which primarily feed on large-seeded species, is central to developing effective conservation strategies. Due to the accelerated habitat loss, the Maracaju Cliffs emerge as crucial for the Red-and-green Macaw among the Cerrado remnants of Mato Grosso do Sul.
在巴西塞拉多地区，红绿金刚鹦鹉（Ara chloropterus）的数量正面临着栖息地快速丧失的威胁。尽管如此，它们的觅食区和主要食物来源仍未得到充分了解。在这项研究中，我评估了在巴西马托格罗索州塞拉多破碎栖息地镶嵌体中，红绿金刚鹦鹉的饮食与可用食物资源之间的关系。在旱季，红绿金刚鹦鹉主要在干燥生境（塞拉多、旱林和沿着马拉卡茹悬崖的城市地区）中以 20 种本地和 5 种外来物种为食，而在全年都在河岸植被（阿吉杜瓦纳河和溪流）中觅食。然后，觅食金刚鹦鹉的数量与食物丰富度和多样性的变化平行，而不是与食物种类的数量平行。另一方面，通过广泛食用丰富的食物，金刚鹦鹉的饮食广度在全年都呈现出较高的值。在整个栖息地镶嵌体中，大种子果实的季节性消耗呈现出从城市地区到干燥生境的梯度，在此过程中，金刚鹦鹉从外来物种到塞拉多物种的食物种类逐渐减少。在这方面，在雨季，城市地区的Terminalia catappa 种子和 Mangifera indica 果肉对红绿金刚鹦鹉很重要，而在塞拉多地区，Caryocar brasiliense 种子则很重要。在该地区，在旱季，Dipteryx alata 和 Buchenavia tomentosa 种子构成了红绿金刚鹦鹉饮食的重要部分。在这些栖息地之间，在河道植被中，金刚鹦鹉在整个季节中经常以棕榈果实为食。因此，在整个一年中，食物资源的丰富度和多样性强烈影响着在栖息地镶嵌体中觅食的红绿金刚鹦鹉的数量。了解不断变化的种子可获得性对主要以大种子为食的红绿金刚鹦鹉的空间和时间丰度模式的影响，是制定有效保护策略的关键。由于栖息地的加速丧失，马拉卡茹悬崖在马托格罗索州塞拉多的剩余地区对红绿金刚鹦鹉来说至关重要。
