Predation of leaf-cutter ants Atta opaciceps Borgmeier, 1939 by the white-tufted marmoset Callithrix jacchus (Linnaeus, 1758): study case and review

Autores

  • Patrício Adriano da Rocha UFPB
  • Stephen Francis Ferrari UFSE
  • Raone Beltrão-Mendes UFSE

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29215/pecen.v5i0.1720

Resumo

Embora conspícuos, alguns eventos de alimentação de pequenos primatas podem ser raros e sazonais. Neste breve relato, descrevemos um grupo de saguis de tufos brancos (Callithrix jacchus) predando formigas cortadeiras. O evento ocorreu em uma área peri-urbana na Mata Atlântica no Nordeste do Brasil. O grupo (um par adulto e dois juvenis) foi observado predando formigas aladas (Atta opaciceps) à medida em que emergiam do formigueiro para seus voos nupciais. Os saguis desciam ao chão para capturar as formigas, retornando aos seus poleiros em uma árvore próxima (a uma altura aproximadamente de 2 metros) para se alimentarem de suas presas. Todo o evento durou aproximadamente 80 minutos. Enquanto altamente oportunista e presumivelmente limitado a períodos específicos do ano, esse tipo de comportamento pode ser tão frequente quanto os voos nupciais realizados pelas formigas, eventualmente fornecendo uma fonte adicional de alimento, destacando a plasticidade da ecologia alimentar dos saguis. Além disso, de acordo com os dados disponíveis, as interações ecológicas (predação, e associação de forrageamento) entre calitriquídeos e formigas parecem desempenhar um papel importante, principalmente em ambientes degradados, enfatizando a habilidade dos calitriquídeos de explorar uma ampla gama de recursos. Adicionalmente, o presente relato também evidencia a raridade desses eventos, necessariamente associados ao voo nupcial das formigas, assim como a importância de registrar esses comportamentos oportunistas para que haja uma compreensão mais completa das adaptações ecológicas de C. jacchus e dos demais calitriquídeos às mudanças de habitat.

Palavras chave: Callitrichidae, sagui comum, ecologia alimentar, Hymenoptera.

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Publicado

12-06-2021

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CIÊNCIAS BIOLÓGICAS / BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES