文章基本信息

标题：Ants as food for Apennine brown bears
本地全文：下载
作者：E. Tosoni ; M. Mei ; P. Ciucci 等
期刊名称：The European Zoological Journal
电子版ISSN：2475-0263
出版年度：2018
卷号：85
期号：1
页码：343-349
DOI：10.1080/24750263.2018.1511762
语种：English
出版社：Taylor & Francis Group
摘要：The value of ants to bears is a topic of substantial relevance for the small and highly endangered population of Apennine brown bears (Ursus arctos marsicanus) in central Italy. Following a previous food-habit study (2006–2009) based on scat analysis, we used the same data set to further investigate patterns of ant consumption by Apennine bears at a greater taxonomic and temporal resolution. We observed a great diversity of ant species in bear scats, comprising 15 genera and > 42 species. Bears most frequently consumed ants living in open grassland and forest edges, belonging to five genera: Formica, Lasius, Tetramorium, Camponotus and Myrmica. Specifically, yellow Lasius spp., Serviformica spp., Lasius s. str. spp., and Tetramorium spp. were most represented in the bear diet, followed by Formica pratensis, Camponotus spp., Myrmica spp. and Formica sanguinea. Yellow Lasius spp. yielded the highest number of individuals per bear scat, outnumbering any other ant taxon. During the years of our study, ant consumption by bears peaked between June and July and corresponded to a higher occurrence of brood in the scats. Our results are useful to inform habitat management, especially in light of expected natural and anthropogenic changes. However, further investigation is necessary to unveil behavioural and ecological correlates of myrmecophagy in Apennine brown bears.
关键词：Apennine brown bear; myrmecophagy; food habits; Ursus arctos marsicanus; ants