Abstract

PENA-RAMOS, José L. et al. Diet composition of Sigmodon hispidus (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in sugarcane. Mastozool. neotrop. [online]. 2009, vol.16, n.2, pp.365-378. ISSN 0327-9383.

We determine the diet composition of Sigmodon hispidus and its relationship with the seasonal variation of food resources availability, habitat and gender of the rodent in Oaxaca, Mexico. Sampling of rodents and vegetation were carried out in plots of sugar cane and weeds in April and August 2005. Food items of captured rodents in both plots were identified by histological analysis of stomach content. It was found that the diet of S. hispidus is diverse and varies between seasons and gender of the rodent. Diet includes the foliage and stems of eight species of grasses, a flatsedge (Cyperus sp.), six broad-leaved species, seeds from six plant species and five groups of arthropods. Sugar cane was the most commonly consumed food and their intake by rats was higher in April compared to August. The consumption of herbs Bidens sp. and Blechum pyramidatum was higher in females. Regarding the resources available in April, rodents caught in the sugarcane plot consumed more sugar cane, seeds and flatsedges, while in the weeds plot, rats consumed sugar cane and seeds; others grasses and broad-leaved plants were less selected in both habitats, as well as the flatsedges in the habitat of weeds. In August, the seeds were more consumed in the sugar cane plot, whereas the sugar cane and seeds were selected in the weeds plot.

Keywords : Cotton rat; Logistic analysis; Microhistological analysis; Resource selection.

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