Seasonal frugivory drives both diet inconsistency and individual specialization in the generalist herbivore gopher tortoise

Registro completo de metadados
MetadadosDescriçãoIdioma
Autor(es): dc.contributorUniversity of Florida-
Autor(es): dc.contributorFlorida International University-
Autor(es): dc.contributorUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln-
Autor(es): dc.contributorFairchild Tropical Botanic Garden-
Autor(es): dc.contributorUniversidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)-
Autor(es): dc.contributorAudubon Nature Institute-
Autor(es): dc.creatorFigueroa, Adrian-
Autor(es): dc.creatorCoblentz, Kyle-
Autor(es): dc.creatorHerrera, Alyssa-
Autor(es): dc.creatorCuni, Lydia-
Autor(es): dc.creatorVillate, Jennifer-
Autor(es): dc.creatorLiu, Hong-
Autor(es): dc.creatorAraujo, Marcio Silva-
Autor(es): dc.creatorWhitfield, Steven M.-
Data de aceite: dc.date.accessioned2025-08-21T17:55:50Z-
Data de disponibilização: dc.date.available2025-08-21T17:55:50Z-
Data de envio: dc.date.issued2025-04-29-
Data de envio: dc.date.issued2024-09-01-
Fonte completa do material: dc.identifierhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fooweb.2024.e00356-
Fonte completa do material: dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/11449/308787-
Fonte: dc.identifier.urihttp://educapes.capes.gov.br/handle/11449/308787-
Descrição: dc.descriptionIndividual diet specialization, where individuals within a population exhibit distinct dietary patterns, can be influenced by shifts in ecological opportunity. One underexplored avenue of research is in investigating whether individuals switch foraging strategies (e.g., shifting from herbivory to frugivory) when ecological opportunity provides a pulse of limiting resources, such as fleshy fruits. This study investigates the influence of seasonal frugivory on diet consistency and specialization among generalist herbivores, specifically the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), in southeastern Florida, USA. We hypothesized that increased frugivory during the wet season (June through November), coinciding with a resource pulse of fleshy fruits, leads to more inconsistent and specialized diets. Using radio telemetry to track individual tortoises and analyzing dissected fecal samples grouped into functional food categories, we applied Bayesian hierarchical modeling to examine diet consistency and specialization. Our results indicated that higher frugivory levels in the wet season correlate with greater diet inconsistency and specialization compared to the dry season. This pattern suggests that gopher tortoises may switch foraging strategies to exploit seasonal resource pulses of fleshy fruit, thus adopting more inconsistent and specialized diets. Additionally, important activities in the life history of the gopher tortoise, such as copulation, home range defense, and burrow construction, coincide with periods of increased fruit consumption and dietary inconsistency/specialization. Increased intake of carbohydrates and digestible energy from fleshy fruits may allow for more time in the tortoise's activity budget for these activities. Finally, by elucidating the relationship between seasonal frugivory and diet consistency/specialization, this research enhances our understanding of the mechanisms shaping ecological dynamics at the intraspecific level which can subsequently influence community-level interactions such as animal-mediated seed dispersal.-
Descrição: dc.descriptionFlorida International University-
Descrição: dc.descriptionFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)-
Descrição: dc.descriptionNational Science Foundation-
Descrição: dc.descriptionDepartment of Widlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida-
Descrição: dc.descriptionDepartment of Earth and Environment Florida International University-
Descrição: dc.descriptionSchool of Biological Sciences University of Nebraska-Lincoln-
Descrição: dc.descriptionDepartment of Biological Sciences Florida International University-
Descrição: dc.descriptionFairchild Tropical Botanic Garden-
Descrição: dc.descriptionDepartamento de Biodiversidade Instituto de Biociências Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), SP-
Descrição: dc.descriptionAudubon Nature Institute-
Descrição: dc.descriptionDepartamento de Biodiversidade Instituto de Biociências Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), SP-
Descrição: dc.descriptionFAPESP: 2022/11287-8-
Descrição: dc.descriptionNational Science Foundation: HRD #1810974-
Idioma: dc.languageen-
Relação: dc.relationFood Webs-
???dc.source???: dc.sourceScopus-
Palavras-chave: dc.subjectEcological opportunity-
Palavras-chave: dc.subjectFrugivory-
Palavras-chave: dc.subjectgopher tortoise-
Palavras-chave: dc.subjectIndividual specialization-
Palavras-chave: dc.subjectNiche theory-
Título: dc.titleSeasonal frugivory drives both diet inconsistency and individual specialization in the generalist herbivore gopher tortoise-
Tipo de arquivo: dc.typelivro digital-
Aparece nas coleções:Repositório Institucional - Unesp

Não existem arquivos associados a este item.