INVESTIGADORES
BERKUNSKY Igor
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
The wild diet of reintroduced Red-and-green Macaws (Ara chloropterus) in the Iberá Wetlands, Argentina.
Autor/es:
VOLPE, NOELIA L.; DI GIACOMO, ADRIÁN S; BERKUNSKY, IGOR
Lugar:
Vancouver
Reunión:
Conferencia; 27th International Ornithological Congress; 2018
Resumen:
The Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloropterus) reintroduction project aims to restore this species to the savanna of the Iberá Wetlands, northeast Argentina, from where it became extinct in the 19th century . Since October 2015, 17 macaws have been released into the wild inside the Iberá National Park . All individuals were captive-sourced . Ten individuals underwent a pre-release rehabilitation process of 6-12 months, which involved the exposure to an array of 54 different wild fruits. We analyzed the ability of the reintroduced macaws to exploit wild food sources . We used radiotelemetry to monitor the macaws (June 2017-March 2018), recording their daily movements and consumption of wild fruits. Macaws fed from 345 different trees and vines, comprising 22 plant species (12 families) . Two species were highly dominant: the guava Psidium guajava (57% of the used trees) and the palm Syagrus romanzoffiana (16% of the trees). Eighty percent of the consumed plant species had been presented to the macaws during the pre-release stage . Four new species were incorporated into the diet after release. The used trees were distributed in 42 forest patches, within a radius of 11 km from the release site . The ability of the reintroduced macaws to locate and use wild food sources, despite coming from captive conditions, confirms the flexibility of the species and its capacity to adapt to a new environment . Pre-release exposure to wild fruits could contribute to a faster addition of these items into the macaw?s diet.