Do seasonal dietary shifts by Temminck's pangolins compensate for winter resource scarcity in a semi-arid environment?. (February 2022)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Do seasonal dietary shifts by Temminck's pangolins compensate for winter resource scarcity in a semi-arid environment?. (February 2022)
- Main Title:
- Do seasonal dietary shifts by Temminck's pangolins compensate for winter resource scarcity in a semi-arid environment?
- Authors:
- Panaino, Wendy
Parrini, Francesca
Phakoago, Makabudi V.
Smith, Dylan
van Dyk, Gus
Fuller, Andrea - Abstract:
- Abstract: In response to food scarcity, animals may increase foraging time or shift their diet by including more profitable prey items. Aardvarks ( Orycteropus afer ) in the semi-arid Kalahari region of southern Africa died, apparently of starvation, because they did not shift their diet when their primary food resource declined following a drought. Whether other myrmecophagous (ant- and termite-eating) mammals alter their diet in response to food scarcity is unclear. We investigated the feeding behaviour (through faecal analysis and direct observations) of six free-living, myrmecophagous Temminck's pangolins ( Smutsia temminckii ), for two years in the Kalahari. We also collected data on climate and ant and termite availability. Winter was characterised by low prey abundance, but pangolins predominantly selected three insect genera, namely Crematogaster ants, Anoplolepis ants, and Trinervitermes termites, regardless of food availability . Pangolins responded to winter resource scarcity by increasing the proportion of consumed Trinervitermes termites, but the shift did not prevent low energy intake during that period. During the winter of the drier of the two years, pangolins increased foraging time and fed on energy-rich prey. Whether the relatively low dietary flexibility of pangolins will allow them to meet their energy demands as insect populations decline with climate change is not known. Highlights: We used faecal analysis to assess the diet of six pangolins in theAbstract: In response to food scarcity, animals may increase foraging time or shift their diet by including more profitable prey items. Aardvarks ( Orycteropus afer ) in the semi-arid Kalahari region of southern Africa died, apparently of starvation, because they did not shift their diet when their primary food resource declined following a drought. Whether other myrmecophagous (ant- and termite-eating) mammals alter their diet in response to food scarcity is unclear. We investigated the feeding behaviour (through faecal analysis and direct observations) of six free-living, myrmecophagous Temminck's pangolins ( Smutsia temminckii ), for two years in the Kalahari. We also collected data on climate and ant and termite availability. Winter was characterised by low prey abundance, but pangolins predominantly selected three insect genera, namely Crematogaster ants, Anoplolepis ants, and Trinervitermes termites, regardless of food availability . Pangolins responded to winter resource scarcity by increasing the proportion of consumed Trinervitermes termites, but the shift did not prevent low energy intake during that period. During the winter of the drier of the two years, pangolins increased foraging time and fed on energy-rich prey. Whether the relatively low dietary flexibility of pangolins will allow them to meet their energy demands as insect populations decline with climate change is not known. Highlights: We used faecal analysis to assess the diet of six pangolins in the Kalahari. Pangolins fed on Crematogaster and Anoplolepis ants, and Trinervitermes termites. The diet changed seasonally, but that did not prevent low energy intake in winter. Foraging for longer and on energy-rich prey occurred when resources were scarce. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Journal of arid environments. Volume 197(2022)
- Journal:
- Journal of arid environments
- Issue:
- Volume 197(2022)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 197, Issue 2022 (2022)
- Year:
- 2022
- Volume:
- 197
- Issue:
- 2022
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2022-0197-2022-0000
- Page Start:
- Page End:
- Publication Date:
- 2022-02
- Subjects:
- Smutsia temminckii -- Climate change -- Kalahari -- Diet
Arid regions ecology -- Periodicals
Arid regions -- Periodicals
Écologie des régions arides -- Périodiques
Régions arides -- Périodiques
577.54 - Journal URLs:
- http://firstsearch.oclc.org/journal=0140-1963;screen=info;ECOIP ↗
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01401963 ↗
http://www.elsevier.com/journals ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021.104676 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0140-1963
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 4947.203000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 20002.xml