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Feeding behavior and trophic niche partitioning between co-existing river otter species

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Abstract

Niche partitioning occurs among coexisting populations to reduce the effects of competitive exclusion among species of similar niche. The aim of the present study is to verify the trophic niche partitioning and feeding behavior between two mustelids, the Giant otter and the Neotropical otter, through the dry and rainy season hydrologic of the Lower Xingu River. Our results suggest that the diets of both mustelids are composed primarily of fish of the family Anostomidae (Headstanders). Despite extensive niche overlap, our results indicate partitioning is facilitated by differences in niche breadth, with potential implications for conservation of both species in the case of declines in prey abundance and diversity. Both species inhabit an area recently impacted by completion of the Belo Monte Hydropower Plant, resulting in large changes to the hydrologic regime. Thus, our results provide important information for conservation efforts regarding the feeding behavior and co-occurrence of both species, as well as providing a baseline for monitoring future health of these mustelid populations. The present study is the first to test the hypothesis of niche partitioning between these two mustelids outside a protected area in the Amazon.

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Acknowledgements

CGM was funded by Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES); JH was funded by a Fulbright Post-Doctoral grant, Fulbright Commission Brazil; TG receives productivity grant from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq # 311078/2019-2), and MCA is funded by National Program for Post-Doctoral (PNPD/CAPES # 2017-6; financial code 001). This article was developed at the Aquatic Ecology and Fisheries Post-Graduate Program of the Federal University of Pará (PPGEAP/UFPA) as the Master Dissertation of the first author. This study was funded by Norte Energia S.A. and Fundação de Amparo e Desenvolvimento da Pesquisa (FADESP).

Funding

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior Finance Code 001, and by PROPESP/UFPA; Fulbright Commission Brazil; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Núcleo de Ecologia Aquática e Pesca da Amazônia, Laboratório de Biologia Pesqueira e Manejo de Recursos Aquáticos, Universidade Federal do Pará, Avenida Perimetral, 2651, Terra Firme, Belém, PA, 66077-830, Brazil

    Carine G. Moraes, Tommaso Giarrizzo & Marcelo C. Andrade

  2. Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, 83844-1136, USA

    Jensen Hegg

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  1. Carine G. Moraes
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Contributions

Carine G. Moraes, Tommaso Giarrizzo and Marcelo C. Andrade contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Carine G. Moraes, Tommaso Giarrizzo, and Marcelo C. Andrade. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Carine G. Moraes and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Carine G. Moraes.

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Not applicable, all data including animal subjects were conceded by Norte Energia S.A., the company authorized by the Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA) to collect at the Xingu River in the area of influence of the Belo Monte Hydropower Plant.

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10750_2021_4614_MOESM1_ESM.docx

Electronic supplementary material 1 (DOCX 95 kb) Online Resource Prey items’ indices (Online Resource 1), prey items’ significance (Online Resource 2), Relative abundance of fish collected using gillnets (Online Resource 3), Relative abundance of the eight fish families (Online Resource 4), Ivlev’s index of electivity (Online Resource 5).

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Moraes, C.G., Hegg, J., Giarrizzo, T. et al. Feeding behavior and trophic niche partitioning between co-existing river otter species. Hydrobiologia 848, 4167–4177 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04614-w

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