Camera traps reveal the predation of artificial nests by free‐ranging Azara’s agoutis, Dasyprocta azarae Lichtenstein, 1823, in central Brazil

Agoutis, Dasyprocta spp., are medium‐sized rodents distributed in Neotropical region. Their diet is usually described as granivorous/frugivorous, and agoutis are recognised as important seed dispersers. Here, we present two spatially and temporally independent records of egg predation by Azara’s ago...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Austral ecology 2021-02, Vol.46 (1), p.148-150
Main Authors: Guimaraes‐Silva, Marco Antônio, Morais, Alessandro Ribeiro, Carvalho, Fábio Martins Vilar, Moreira, Jânio Cordeiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Cameras
Cerrado
Dasyprocta
Dasyprocta azarae
Eggs
feeding strategy
Foraging behavior
Granivory
Ground level
Neotropics
Nests
Predation
Predatory behavior
Rodentia
Rodents
Savannahs
Traps
Vertebrates
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Summary:Agoutis, Dasyprocta spp., are medium‐sized rodents distributed in Neotropical region. Their diet is usually described as granivorous/frugivorous, and agoutis are recognised as important seed dispersers. Here, we present two spatially and temporally independent records of egg predation by Azara’s agouti, Dasyprocta azarae, in fragments of Cerrado savanna forest. In both cases, the agoutis ingested quail eggs that had been placed in artificial nests at ground level, 100 m from the edge of the forest. As Dasyprocta is a herbivorous rodent, this predatory behaviour is unexpected and may represent an opportunistic foraging strategy. These observations provide important new insights into the feeding biology of agoutis and highlight the value of camera traps as a tool for the collection of data on the behavioural ecology and natural history of vertebrates in general.
ISSN:1442-9985
1442-9993
DOI:10.1111/aec.12941