Trophic ecology and the use of shelters and latrines by the Neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) in the Taquari Valley, Southern Brazil

Carlos Benhur Kasper,Vinicius Augusto G Bastazini,Juliana Salvi,Hamilton Cézar Z Grillo

doi:10.1590/s0073-47212008000400009

Carlos Benhur Kasper, Vinicius Augusto G Bastazini + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/s0073-47212008000400009

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Abstract

This manuscript presents information about the ecology of Lontra longicaudis (Olfers, 1818) in the Taquari Valley, State of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. The study was carried out in two areas located in the Forquetinha Creek and in the Forqueta River from January to December 2003. The otters are specialist feeders (Bsta = 0.24), with a diet based mostly on fish, especially those of the families Loricariidae and Cichlidae. Most shelters used by the species were excavated burrows underneath tree roots, while shelters within rocks were used less frequently. The burrows showed great variation in size, being found on average 3.5 m (sd = 3.6 m) away from the margin and 2.5 m (sd = 1.2 m) above the water level. Scent marks were made preferentially on rocks and fallen tree trunks at the edge of the water. There was a tendency to increase the reutilization of latrines in detriment of using new sites throughout the sample period.

Highlights

Otters are carnivores with semi-aquatic habits found in every continent, with the exception of Antarctica and Australasia (FOSTER-TURLEY, 1990)
The diet of L. longicaudis is based on fish and crustaceans, complemented by a variety of other organisms (PARDINI, 1998; COLARES & WALDEMARIN, 2000)
There are very few references about the size of prey taken by the Neotropical otter (QUADROS & MONTEIRO-FILHO, 2001; KASPER et al, 2004b)

Summary

Introduction

Otters are carnivores with semi-aquatic habits found in every continent, with the exception of Antarctica and Australasia (FOSTER-TURLEY, 1990). Studies involving L. longicaudis have referred mainly to its diet (HELDER-JOSÉ & ANDRADE, 1997; PARDINI, 1998; COLARES & WALDEMARIN, 2000; GORI et al, 2003; KASPER et al, 2004a, b), to the use of scent marks and shelters (SPÍNOLA & VAUHGHAN, 1995; SOLDATELI & BLACHER, 1996; PARDINI & TRAJANO, 1999; QUADROS & MONTEIRO-FILHO, 2002; KASPER et al, 2004a), and to the species distribution (CHEHÉBER, 1985; CHEHÉBER et al, 1996; BLACHER, 1987; REYNOSO, 1997; GORI et al, 2003) Such studies are favoured because of the habit of the Neotropical otter of defecating (sprainting) in conspicuous sites of its home range, a behavior observed in many other otter species. Margins of bodies of water where it lives, and such behavior, common to many carnivores, usually plays a key role in territory marking and in communication among individuals (GORMAN & TROWBRIDGE, 1989)

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