Abstract
Didelphis albiventris Lund, 1840 is one of the least known Brazilian marsupials with respect to its feeding habits. Since the white-eared opossum is omnivorous, it occupies several niches and may be found in urban areas as well as in forest fragments. Current analysis aimed at determining and comparing the diet of D. albiventris in two periurban areas of the municipality of Viamão, a conserved forest remnant and a degraded area resulting from agricultural activities. Captures of D. albiventris were carried out for a period of 30 months by a sampling effort of 504 trap-nights. Forty fecal samples were collected from 45 captures corresponding to 18 specimens. Diet was determined by fecal analysis. Fruit was the most representative item, at an occurrence of 77.5%, comprising six species of plants, followed by invertebrates (62.5%) and vertebrates (37.5%). Didelphis albiventris displayed a frugivorous-omnivorous habit, with no difference between the sexes with respect to composition and frequency of the items consumed. Since there was a greater diversity of food items and fruits in the more conserved area, seasonal variations in the diet could be detected. Generalist species, such as D. albiventris, may have an important role in the recovery of degraded areas through the dispersal of seeds of species of initial successional stages.
Highlights
Marsupials currently exist in only two regions of the world, on the Australian and American continents (REDFORD; EISENBERG, 1992)
Didelphis albiventris showed a varied diet, composed of vertebrates, invertebrates and fruits, fruits and arthropods were the main items in the diet, when the combined samples of the two areas are taken into consideration (Table 1)
Cáceres (2002) obtained a similar result in forest fragments with araucaria in a periurban region in the State of Paraná, Brazil, invertebrates were the main food item found in the feces of D. albiventris, followed by fruits and vertebrates
Summary
Marsupials currently exist in only two regions of the world, on the Australian and American continents (REDFORD; EISENBERG, 1992) They are considered small- to medium-sized animals which may occupy a variety of habitats. Marsupials are extremely diversified animals with regard to their habits, with a predominantly omnivorous diet, many researchers attribute the feeding tendencies of frugivory, insectivory and carnivory to the group (SANTORI; ASTÚA DE MORAES, 2006). They perform important ecological functions, such as controlling populations of vertebrates and invertebrates, and dispersing seeds (BARBOSA et al, 2012).
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