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Ecología en Bolivia

Print version ISSN 1605-2528On-line version ISSN 2075-5023

Abstract

RIVADENEIRA-CANEDO, Catalina. Study of the Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) as a legitimate seed disperser and elements of its diet in the region of Apolobamba-Bolivia. Ecología en Bolivia [online]. 2008, vol.43, n.1, pp.29-40. ISSN 1605-2528.

Abstract Little is know on Andean bear ecology and the role that this species could play in the ecosystems in which it is found. The objective of this study is to increase ecological knowledge of this species by evaluating if the Andean bear is a legitimate seed disperser and examining its dietary elements. During July and October of 1988 and April and June of 1999, seeds, plants and Andean bear feces were collected. To determine the effects of ingestion, seed germination and viability were tested. The results suggest that Andean bear is a legitimate dispersing agent of three species of plants: Nectandra cf. cuneatocordata, Symplocos cf. cernua, and Gaultheria vaccinioides, since their seeds were found unharmed and viable after having passed through the bear’s digestive tract. The seeds from Gaultheria vaccinioides that were consumed by the bear germinated in a similar percentage and time to those of test samples. Likewise, the percentage of viability in Symplocos cf. cernua seeds did not show any differences between those found in feces and those collected from ripe fruits. In the case of Nectandra cf. cuneatocordata seeds the percentage germination was similar to the test samples, but the time for germination of seeds that were extracted from the feces was significantly shorter. The fruits of Gaultheria vaccinioides were also consumed in the study zone by other animals such as birds and Andean foxes (Pseudalopex culpaeus). Comparing the germination of seeds from the fecal samples of these animals with those of bears, it was found that there was no difference in the percentage of germination, but there was in the speed. The seeds consumed by bears and foxes germinated in less time than those consumed by birds. Based on the feces analysis and other indirect food traces, the Andean bear’s diet in the Apolobamba region in terms of frequency of occurrence consists of 57.5% species from the Bromeliaceae family: Puya atra, Puya sp., Tillandsia rubella; 34.8 % of Gaultheria vaccinioides, Symplocos cf. cernua and Nectandra cf. cuneatocordata fruits; 7.5% of cattle (Bos taurus and Equs caballus), and 1.5 % of birds.

Keywords : Seed dispersal; Tremarctos ornatus; Paramo; Cloud forest.

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