Dieta e dispersão de sementes de lobeira pelo lobo-guará (Chrysocyon brachyurus) em área de Cerrado, com reflorestamento de eucalipto como matriz de entorno - Minas Gerais

Abstract

Anthropogenic changes exert negative impacts on biodiversity by promoting the loss and fragmentation of natural habitats. From the Brazilian wild fauna, the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) represents a sensitive species to the environmental alterations, presenting conservation status "threatened", making necessary conservation measures for this species. Thus, the present study aimed to know the qualitative and quantitative composition of the maned wolf diet, the variation food items consumed during the dry and rainy seasons and the effectiveness of the dispersion of seeds promoted by this canid. The study was carried out in a legal reserve area of the Cerrado biome, whose environmental matrix is represented by eucalyptus reforestation, located at Fazenda Nova Monte Carmelo. Fecal material was collected from 2017 to September 2018. The diet was analyzed by stool screening and identification of the items consumed. The effectiveness of seed dispersal was analyzed through the germinative responses of Solanum lycocarpum seeds extracted from maned wolf faeces and fruits collected in the study area. The maned wolf presented an omnivorous and generalist diet, consuming more items of animal and vegetable origin in the dry season, the lobeira being an important item in their diet. Seeds of S. lycocarpum from faeces presented higher germination means than seeds from fruits, indicating the importance of the passage of seeds through the digestive tract of the animal to facilitate emergence, besides reinforcing the role of the maned wolf as a species seed disperser.