Natural history of the white-nosed coati, Nasua narica, in a tropical dry forest of Western Mexico
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Abstract. From November 1994 to March 1997, I studied the ecology of the White-nosed coati (Nasua narica; Procyonidae) in the central portion of its geographical range, in the tropical dry forests of the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve (CCBR), Jalisco, Mexico. I present here information about density, group size, diet diversity and feeding habits, ectoparasite load, mortality factors and reproduction. Average density estimates was 42.94 ± 16.88 ind. / km² (mean ± 95 % confidence interval) and average group size was 6.1 ± 0.49 (n = 142). Fecal analysis, demonstrated a trophic niche breadth of 2.674 with 85.11 % of the diet consisting of fruit and arthropods: two resources whose spatio-temporal availability is strongly affected by seasonality. The results are compared with available data and discussed in the context of seasonality effects on the ecology of this species.
Resumen. De noviembre de 1994 a marzo de 1997, estudié aspectos de la ecología del coatí (Nasua narica; Procyonidae) en la porción media de su distribución geográfica, en la selva baja caducifolia de la Reserva de la Biosfera de Chamela Cuixmala, Jalisco, México. Presento aquí información sobre su densidad, el tamaño de sus grupos, la diversidad de su dieta y sus hábitos alimentarios, la carga de ectoparásitos, algunos factores de mortalidad y algunos aspectos reproductivos. El promedio de estimaciones de densidad fue 42.94 ± 16.88 ind. / km² (media ± intervalo de confianza al 95%), y el tamaño promedio de grupo fue de 6.1 ± 0.49 (n= 142). El análisis de heces fecales demostró una diversidad trófica de 2.674, y que el 85.11 % de la dieta consiste de frutas y artrópodos: dos recursos cuya disponibilidad espacio-temporal es fuertemente afectada por la estacionalidad climática. Los resultados se discuten en el contexto del los efectos de un ambiente estacional en la ecología de esta especie.
Key words: tropical dry forest; climatic seasonality; Jalisco, México; Carnivore; Nasua narica
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Revista Mexicana de Mastozoología, nueva época por Instituto de Ecología, UNAM. Se distribuye bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional.
Basada en una obra en http://revistamexicanademastozoologia.com.mx/ojs/index.php/rmm.
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