Food selection and predation risk in the Andean white-eared opossum (Didelphis pernigra Allen, 1900) in a suburban area of Bogotá, Colombia
Urbanization is spreading throughout the Andes, and despite it there is still wildlife which survives in these novel environments throughout Colombia and elsewhere. The Andean white-eared opossum (Didelphis pernigra Allen, 1900) can tolerate moderate levels of urbanization in the Andes highlands, an...
Published in: | Mammalian Biology |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2017
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1616504717300654 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2017.07.001 |
id |
ftunivdca:oai:repository.udca.edu.co:11158/2178 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunivdca:oai:repository.udca.edu.co:11158/2178 2023-05-15T15:50:56+02:00 Food selection and predation risk in the Andean white-eared opossum (Didelphis pernigra Allen, 1900) in a suburban area of Bogotá, Colombia López-Barragan, Cinthya Nathaly Sánchez, Francisco Bogotá, Colombia 2017 application/pdf https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1616504717300654 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2017.07.001 eng eng Mammalian Biology;Vol. 86, No.Sep., 2017 páginas 79-83 Agricultura 1616-5047 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1616504717300654 doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2017.07.001 Derechos Reservados - Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) CC-BY-NC-SA https://udca.elogim.com:2119/science/article/pii/S1616504717300654?via%3Dihub Giving-up density Perceived risk Optimal patch use Urban ecology Marsupial Ecología urbana Densidad de la población Artículo de revista http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Text http://purl.org/redcol/resource_type/ART 2017 ftunivdca https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2017.07.001 2022-09-01T06:16:05Z Urbanization is spreading throughout the Andes, and despite it there is still wildlife which survives in these novel environments throughout Colombia and elsewhere. The Andean white-eared opossum (Didelphis pernigra Allen, 1900) can tolerate moderate levels of urbanization in the Andes highlands, and we evaluated its food selection based on optimal patch use theory using foraging stations to measure giving-up densities in a suburban area in Bogotá (∼2600 m a.s.l.). We offered the opossums equicaloric mixtures of protein-rich and sucrose-rich foods, and they preferred the sucrose mixture. However, the magnitude of this preference was influenced by temporal and spatial effects. We suggest that in environments such as the high Andes, where air temperature regularly drops below 10 °C, the opossums prefer foods that provide energy easily. We also assessed the opossums’ perceived risk of predation when domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) are present by sprinkling dog urine in cotton swabs next to foraging stations; we expected opossums to forage more when the predator’s signal was not present. Dog urine indicated a risk for opossum’s at only one of six foraging stations, suggesting a weak predator’s signal effect that depends on location. Both food preferences and perception of risk by the opossum were affected by the spatial heterogeneity of the urban environment. Thus, microhabitat management at the study site, which is part of a recently created reserve to preserve Bogotá’s natural capital, appears to be key to conserve the opossums and their ecological functions in highly disturbed areas of the Andes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales (UDCA): Repositorio Mammalian Biology 86 79 83 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales (UDCA): Repositorio |
op_collection_id |
ftunivdca |
language |
English |
topic |
Giving-up density Perceived risk Optimal patch use Urban ecology Marsupial Ecología urbana Densidad de la población |
spellingShingle |
Giving-up density Perceived risk Optimal patch use Urban ecology Marsupial Ecología urbana Densidad de la población López-Barragan, Cinthya Nathaly Sánchez, Francisco Food selection and predation risk in the Andean white-eared opossum (Didelphis pernigra Allen, 1900) in a suburban area of Bogotá, Colombia |
topic_facet |
Giving-up density Perceived risk Optimal patch use Urban ecology Marsupial Ecología urbana Densidad de la población |
description |
Urbanization is spreading throughout the Andes, and despite it there is still wildlife which survives in these novel environments throughout Colombia and elsewhere. The Andean white-eared opossum (Didelphis pernigra Allen, 1900) can tolerate moderate levels of urbanization in the Andes highlands, and we evaluated its food selection based on optimal patch use theory using foraging stations to measure giving-up densities in a suburban area in Bogotá (∼2600 m a.s.l.). We offered the opossums equicaloric mixtures of protein-rich and sucrose-rich foods, and they preferred the sucrose mixture. However, the magnitude of this preference was influenced by temporal and spatial effects. We suggest that in environments such as the high Andes, where air temperature regularly drops below 10 °C, the opossums prefer foods that provide energy easily. We also assessed the opossums’ perceived risk of predation when domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) are present by sprinkling dog urine in cotton swabs next to foraging stations; we expected opossums to forage more when the predator’s signal was not present. Dog urine indicated a risk for opossum’s at only one of six foraging stations, suggesting a weak predator’s signal effect that depends on location. Both food preferences and perception of risk by the opossum were affected by the spatial heterogeneity of the urban environment. Thus, microhabitat management at the study site, which is part of a recently created reserve to preserve Bogotá’s natural capital, appears to be key to conserve the opossums and their ecological functions in highly disturbed areas of the Andes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
López-Barragan, Cinthya Nathaly Sánchez, Francisco |
author_facet |
López-Barragan, Cinthya Nathaly Sánchez, Francisco |
author_sort |
López-Barragan, Cinthya Nathaly |
title |
Food selection and predation risk in the Andean white-eared opossum (Didelphis pernigra Allen, 1900) in a suburban area of Bogotá, Colombia |
title_short |
Food selection and predation risk in the Andean white-eared opossum (Didelphis pernigra Allen, 1900) in a suburban area of Bogotá, Colombia |
title_full |
Food selection and predation risk in the Andean white-eared opossum (Didelphis pernigra Allen, 1900) in a suburban area of Bogotá, Colombia |
title_fullStr |
Food selection and predation risk in the Andean white-eared opossum (Didelphis pernigra Allen, 1900) in a suburban area of Bogotá, Colombia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Food selection and predation risk in the Andean white-eared opossum (Didelphis pernigra Allen, 1900) in a suburban area of Bogotá, Colombia |
title_sort |
food selection and predation risk in the andean white-eared opossum (didelphis pernigra allen, 1900) in a suburban area of bogotá, colombia |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1616504717300654 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2017.07.001 |
op_coverage |
Bogotá, Colombia |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
https://udca.elogim.com:2119/science/article/pii/S1616504717300654?via%3Dihub |
op_relation |
Mammalian Biology;Vol. 86, No.Sep., 2017 páginas 79-83 Agricultura 1616-5047 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1616504717300654 doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2017.07.001 |
op_rights |
Derechos Reservados - Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC-SA |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2017.07.001 |
container_title |
Mammalian Biology |
container_volume |
86 |
container_start_page |
79 |
op_container_end_page |
83 |
_version_ |
1766385960299266048 |