Influência da precipitação e da temperatura na dieta de lontra [(Lontra longicaudis (Olfers, 1818)] em área de influência de reservatório hidrelétrico no rio Jari, Amapá, Brasil.

Abstract

Were evaluated the seasonal dynamics of precipitation and temperature in the Lontra longicaudis diet in the areas of direct and indirect influence of the Santo Antônio do Jari Hydroelectric Reservoir, Amapá, Brazil, to test the hypothesis of the predominance of fish items in the total of feces and the increase of crustacean items and the diversity of prey in the less rainy period. The study was carried out at the Santo Antônio do Jari Hydroelectric located about 150 km from the mouth of the Jari River with the collection of feces every quarter during 2016, 2017 and 2018 in the upstream and downstream rivers in the rainy season and less rainy season, and the food items found were quantified for each food category using the frequency of relative occurrence (FOr%) and the mean and standard deviation were calculated and to check the relationship between food frequency and climatic variables, ordering was performed by means of of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with the aid of the statistical software R. In 542 samples of feces analyzed, fish and crustaceans were the most consumed items over the three years, mainly upstream. There was a positive correlation between fish items and precipitation, and temperature and crustaceans items. The information obtained is fundamental as environmental indicators for the management and conservation of otters in natural / or impacted environments, especially when associated with climatic aspects in the Amazon region.