Diet of the Two Banded Plover (Charadrius falklandicus) in Península Valdés, Patagonia Argentina

MUSMECI, L.R.; BALA, L.O.; HERNÁNDEZ, M.A.

Maturín.

Congreso; VII Congreso de Ornitología Neotropical; 2007

Sociedad de Ornitología Neotropical, Unión Venezolana de Ornitólogos

The shorebird Two Banded Plover (Charadrius falklandicus) has neotropical migration, breeding in the Atlantic coast of Argentina and Islas Malvinas and arriving to Brazil in its migrations. Peninsula Valdés (northeast of Patagonia is used as a feeding stopover. Between February and March 2003, 49 feaces were collected and conserved individually. The objective was to reconstruct the diet of the Two Banded Plover in Colombo Beach (New Gulf, Península Valdés) and its comparison with previous studies in Fracasso Beach(San José Gulf, Península Valdés). The diet was build up based on the identification of key structures present in droppings. Eight prey items were identified, with the most important components being the polychaetes Travisia olens, clams Darina solenoides and ants. It was possible to quantify the clams (1,92 individuals/feace), mean size (11,62 mm; SD = 4,82; N = 50) and biomass (10,79 mg AFDM; SD = 10,76; N = 50) were calculated by regressions. Selection of clam sizes was evaluated by Savage index (6-10 and 12-14 mm; p