Optimal diet strategy of a large-bodied psittacine: food resource abundance and nutritional content enable facultative dietary specialization by the Military Macaw
Abstract Background Dietary specialization should arise when there is a relatively high abundance of a particular resource, where animals may select food items to obtain an optimal diet that maximizes energy intake. Large-bodied psittacines frequently exhibit a narrow dietary niche with specific hab...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2019-10-01
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| Series: | Avian Research |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40657-019-0177-2 |
| _version_ | 1797972150577004544 |
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| author | Sylvia Margarita de la Parra-Martínez Luis Guillermo Muñoz-Lacy Alejandro Salinas-Melgoza Katherine Renton |
| author_facet | Sylvia Margarita de la Parra-Martínez Luis Guillermo Muñoz-Lacy Alejandro Salinas-Melgoza Katherine Renton |
| author_sort | Sylvia Margarita de la Parra-Martínez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Dietary specialization should arise when there is a relatively high abundance of a particular resource, where animals may select food items to obtain an optimal diet that maximizes energy intake. Large-bodied psittacines frequently exhibit a narrow dietary niche with specific habitat use, but few studies have determined whether psittacines select food resources, and how this influences habitat use. Methods We established fruiting phenology transects to evaluate food resource availability for the large-bodied Military Macaw (Ara militaris) in semi-deciduous, deciduous, and pine-oak forest at two sites along the coast of Jalisco, during the dry season when macaws are nesting. We also determined Military Macaw diet by observations of foraging macaws along transect routes, and conducted bromatological analysis of the nutritional content of the most consumed resource. Results Military Macaws used six plant species as food items during the dry season, and had a narrow dietary niche (Levins’ B = 0.28), with 56% of foraging macaws consuming the seeds of Hura polyandra. No food resources were recorded in pine-oak forest during the dry season, with food resources and foraging by macaws concentrated in tropical deciduous and semi-deciduous forest, where H. polyandra was the most abundant fruiting tree species. When considering the proportional availability of food resources, we determined a broad Hurlbert dietary niche breadth of H = 0.67, indicating that Military Macaws consumed food resources according to their availability. Furthermore, the seeds of H. polyandra were an important source of protein, carbohydrates, minerals and moisture, and the hard fruit-casing means that these seeds are exclusively available for macaws. Conclusions By concentrating their diet on the most abundant resources, Military Macaws may increase foraging efficiency in the dry season. The high nutrient content also means that concentrating the diet on seeds of H. polyandra may be an optimal foraging strategy for Military Macaws to meet their energy requirements during the breeding season. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T03:43:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0cda128741a4491ca4268b1bfe552610 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2053-7166 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T03:43:52Z |
| publishDate | 2019-10-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Avian Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-0cda128741a4491ca4268b1bfe5526102023-01-02T03:03:39ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Avian Research2053-71662019-10-011011910.1186/s40657-019-0177-2Optimal diet strategy of a large-bodied psittacine: food resource abundance and nutritional content enable facultative dietary specialization by the Military MacawSylvia Margarita de la Parra-Martínez0Luis Guillermo Muñoz-Lacy1Alejandro Salinas-Melgoza2Katherine Renton3Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Centro Universitario de la Costa, Universidad de GuadalajaraComisión Nacional Para el Conocimiento y Uso para la BiodiversidadFacultad de Biología, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de HidalgoEstación de Biología Chamela, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoAbstract Background Dietary specialization should arise when there is a relatively high abundance of a particular resource, where animals may select food items to obtain an optimal diet that maximizes energy intake. Large-bodied psittacines frequently exhibit a narrow dietary niche with specific habitat use, but few studies have determined whether psittacines select food resources, and how this influences habitat use. Methods We established fruiting phenology transects to evaluate food resource availability for the large-bodied Military Macaw (Ara militaris) in semi-deciduous, deciduous, and pine-oak forest at two sites along the coast of Jalisco, during the dry season when macaws are nesting. We also determined Military Macaw diet by observations of foraging macaws along transect routes, and conducted bromatological analysis of the nutritional content of the most consumed resource. Results Military Macaws used six plant species as food items during the dry season, and had a narrow dietary niche (Levins’ B = 0.28), with 56% of foraging macaws consuming the seeds of Hura polyandra. No food resources were recorded in pine-oak forest during the dry season, with food resources and foraging by macaws concentrated in tropical deciduous and semi-deciduous forest, where H. polyandra was the most abundant fruiting tree species. When considering the proportional availability of food resources, we determined a broad Hurlbert dietary niche breadth of H = 0.67, indicating that Military Macaws consumed food resources according to their availability. Furthermore, the seeds of H. polyandra were an important source of protein, carbohydrates, minerals and moisture, and the hard fruit-casing means that these seeds are exclusively available for macaws. Conclusions By concentrating their diet on the most abundant resources, Military Macaws may increase foraging efficiency in the dry season. The high nutrient content also means that concentrating the diet on seeds of H. polyandra may be an optimal foraging strategy for Military Macaws to meet their energy requirements during the breeding season.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40657-019-0177-2Ara militarisBromatological analysisDiet compositionFood resource selectionFruiting phenologyHura polyandra |
| spellingShingle | Sylvia Margarita de la Parra-Martínez Luis Guillermo Muñoz-Lacy Alejandro Salinas-Melgoza Katherine Renton Optimal diet strategy of a large-bodied psittacine: food resource abundance and nutritional content enable facultative dietary specialization by the Military Macaw Avian Research Ara militaris Bromatological analysis Diet composition Food resource selection Fruiting phenology Hura polyandra |
| title | Optimal diet strategy of a large-bodied psittacine: food resource abundance and nutritional content enable facultative dietary specialization by the Military Macaw |
| title_full | Optimal diet strategy of a large-bodied psittacine: food resource abundance and nutritional content enable facultative dietary specialization by the Military Macaw |
| title_fullStr | Optimal diet strategy of a large-bodied psittacine: food resource abundance and nutritional content enable facultative dietary specialization by the Military Macaw |
| title_full_unstemmed | Optimal diet strategy of a large-bodied psittacine: food resource abundance and nutritional content enable facultative dietary specialization by the Military Macaw |
| title_short | Optimal diet strategy of a large-bodied psittacine: food resource abundance and nutritional content enable facultative dietary specialization by the Military Macaw |
| title_sort | optimal diet strategy of a large bodied psittacine food resource abundance and nutritional content enable facultative dietary specialization by the military macaw |
| topic | Ara militaris Bromatological analysis Diet composition Food resource selection Fruiting phenology Hura polyandra |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40657-019-0177-2 |
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