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Responses of ungulates to seasonal inundations in the Amazon floodplain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Richard E. Bodmer
Richard E. Bodmer
Affiliation:
Large Animal Research Group, Departament of Zoology, University of Cambridge, 34A Storeys Way, Cambridge, CB3 0DT, U.K.
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Abstract

Terrestrial ungulates use different strategies to cope with widespread annual flooding of the Amazon basin. Red brocket deer (Mazama americana) and collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) retreat to floodplain islands and shift from a frugivorous to a woody browse diet. However, both white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) and lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) diets are unaffected by inundations; in the case of white-lipped peccary because they migrate into and out of flooded areas and in the case of lowland tapir because of their semi-aquatic nature. These-strategies of white-lipped peccary and lowland tapir enable them to exploit the greater fruit production of flooded forests more frequently than brocket deer and collared peccary.

Keywords

Amazondeerdietfloodplain forestMazamapeccariesseasonalityTapirusTayassuterra firme forests
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , May 1990 , pp. 191 - 201
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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