Resumen

GONZALEZ, José Luis  y  OSBAHR, Karin. BOTANICAL AND NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION OF THE DIET OF Dinomys branickii (RODENTIA: DINOMYIDAE) IN CENTRAL ANDES OF COLOMBIA. rev.udcaactual.divulg.cient. [online]. 2013, vol.16, n.1, pp.235-244. ISSN 0123-4226.

The knowledge about wildlife nutrition meets ecological and management aspects of a particular species. The main objective of this study was to determine the botanical composition and nutritional content expressed on a dry basis of the diet and the preference on different plant species consumed by the Pacarana (Dinomys branickii) in natural habitats. In Central Andes of Colombia, we collected feces and different food sources previously identified. We obtained plant fragments from feces using the microhistological technique, and identified different epidermal tissues. We compared photos of cuticles of plant material with the feces and identified eight families, 10 genera and 10 species of plants with different vegetative parts (leaf, stem, petiole, rhizome and infructescence). The analysis of plant nutritional contents showed high fiber and low fat with a high ash concentration. The species is selective against these resources and its strategy to select the diet is polyphagia including especially plants of the genus Anthurium, Cyclanthus and Xanthosoma saggitifolium.

Palabras clave : Microhistology; food resource; Pacarana; Andes; Colombia.

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