CICYTTP   12500
CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION CIENTIFICA Y DE TRANSFERENCIA TECNOLOGICA A LA PRODUCCION
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Feeding Habits of Amazonian Freshwater Turtles (Podocnemididae and Chelidae) from Peru
Autor/es:
FERRONATO, B.O.; PIÑA, C.I.; COCHACHEZ MOLINA, F.; ESPINOSA, R.A.; MORALES, V.R.
Revista:
CHELONIAN CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGY
Editorial:
CHELONIAN RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Referencias:
Lugar: Lawrence; Año: 2012
ISSN:
1071-8443
Resumen:
Abstract. ? We describe here the feeding habits of the Yellow-spotted River turtle (Podocnemis unifilis, n=20), Geoffroy?s side-necked turtle (Phrynops geoffroanus, n=10), and Gibba turtle (Mesoclemmys gibba, n=4) from central Peru, Pasco Department, and evaluate food overlap between them. P. unifilis showed a generalist feeding habit, ingesting animal and plant matter, but tending to be herbivorous, as plant matter made up 62.9% of the volume versus 3.9% for animal material. The most important items in P. unifilis diet were seeds from the Fabaceae (Leguminosae) family and bark. P. geoffroanus and M. gibba also had generalist feeding habits. The most important items for P. geoffroanus were insects, especially Libellulidae larvae, and plant material. M. gibba ingested insects, fish, crustaceans, unidentified plant matter, bark, leaves, stem, and algae, being plant matter more representative by frequency and volume. Food partitioning was observed between P. unifilis and P. geoffroanus, and both species showed a discrete food overlap with M. gibba. This is the first quantitative dietary study of Peruvian freshwater turtles, and the first diet analysis of wild M. gibba in the Amazon basin.