A dieta de dendrocincla fuliginosa (passeriformes: dendrocolaptidae) em Mucajaí, Roraima.

Abstract

Dendrocincla fuliginosa feeds largely on arthropods chased away by ants. It forages in the mid-level of the forest, but in the absence of competitors, it may move to lower perches, where food is more available. The diet of this species has been studied previously in two locations, one in the presence and one in the absence of Dendrocincla merula, a competitor species that occupies the lower stratum of the forest. This paper aims to study the diet of D. fuliginosa in Mucajaí, where D. merula is present, and its subsequent comparison with the results obtained in previous studies, verifying whether there are differences in the diet of D. fuliginosa according to the occurrence or absence of that species. For this purpose, the stomach contents of 11 individuals were analyzed, and the material was preserved in ethanol 70% and examined under a stereoscopic microscope. The proportion of each prey category was determined by the mean of the proportions found in each stomach. Student's t-test was used for comparison. The diet of D.fuliginosa in Mucajaí was composed basically of Coleoptera (39.61%), Hymenoptera (19.74%), Formicidae (15.13%) and Arachinida (11.67%). The composition of the diet did not differ between the works (P>0.05), which indicates that the displacement caused by the absence of the competitor does not interfere significantly in the diet of this species.