Keywords
diet overlap
Strigiformes
trophic ecology
Tyto alba
How to Cite
Abstract
We studied the diet of Athene cunicularia and Tyto alba in an ecotonal area between Monte and Espinal in La Pampa Province, Argentina. We identified 747 prey items for Athene cunicularia and 563 for Tyto alba, corresponding to classes Mammalia, Reptilia, Amphibia, Aves, Insecta and Arachnida. Insects represented the majority of the prey items of Athene cunicularia both in summer and autumn-winter, but the greatest biomass contribution was given by the consumption of juvenal Ctenomys sp. Tyto alba mostly consumed Calomys sp. in summer and autumn-winter, but Akodon molinae contributed greater biomass. Trophic niche breadth was higher for Athene cunicularia than for Tyto alba in summer, whereas in autumn-winter values were similar for the two species. There was no overlap in the trophic niche between Athene cunicularia and Tyto alba, which suggests that they do not compete for food resources.
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