Diet and habitat use by mammalian carnivores mosaic Formed by remnants of Atlantic forest and plantations forest

Compreender a coexistÃncia de carnÃvoros simpÃtricos em ambientes alterados pelo homem requer conhecer a forma com que esses predadores partilham os recursos alimentares. Neste estudo, nÃs investigamos a dieta de nove carnÃvoros que ocorrem em um mosaico composto por remanescentes de Floresta AtlÃntica e plantios florestais no Sul do Brasil. Entre 2006 e 2008 foram coletadas 1038 amostras fecais em cinco transectos de 6 km estabelecidos para amostrar a diversidade de ambientes da Ãrea de estudo. Os mamÃferos predominaram na dieta de todos os carnÃvoros estudados, seguidos de aves. As categorias ârÃpteisâ, âpeixesâ, âvegetaisâ (frutos e sementes) e âinvertebradosâ foram consumidas esporadicamente. A amplitude do nicho revelou que os felinos sÃo especialistas em mamÃferos e a sobreposiÃÃo da dieta à quase completa dentro dessa famÃlia. No entanto, esses resultados podem mudar caso as presas sejam identificadas em nÃveis taxonÃmicos mais baixosUnderstanding the coexistence of sympatric carnivores in disturbed environments requires knowing the way these predators share food resources. In this study, we investigated the diet of nine carnivore species that occur in a mosaic composed of Atlantic forest remnants and forest plantations in southern Brazil. Between 2006 and 2008 1038 fecal samples were collected along five 6 km transects that were established to sample the habitat diversity of the study area. The relatively high percentage (49.5%) of fecal samples identified to species level is due to a modification of the proposed methodology for the separation of guardhairs, as described herein. Mammalian prey was predominant on the diet of all carnivores studied, followed by birds. The food categories "reptiles", "fish", "vegetable" (fruits and seeds) and "invertebrates" were consumed occasionally. Niche breadth showed that felids are specialists in mammals and diet overlap was almost complete among this family. Nevertheless, such results could change if food categories were identified to lower taxonomic level