Abstract

SORIA-ORTIZ, Gerardo J.; CHARRUAU, Pierre  and  REYNOSO, Víctor Hugo. Variation in diet of hatchlings, juveniles and sub-adults of Caiman crocodilus chiapasius in La Encrucijada, Chiapas, Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2020, vol.91, e912852.  Epub Mar 01, 2021. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2020.91.2852.

Little is known about the diet of the Chiapas spectacled caiman, Caiman crocodilus chiapasius (Bocourt, 1876), in the southern coast of Mexico. Herein, we analyzed the stomach content of 44 caimans divided into 3 size classes in La Encrucijada, Chiapas, Mexico. Within the contents we identified insects, crustaceans, arachnids, fishes, and birds. Hatchlings fed mainly on insects and arachnids, juveniles on crustaceans and insects and sub-adults on crustaceans and fish. Our data show that while the invertebrate intake decreased along different size classes, vertebrates intake increased, and that diet overlapped greater in adjacent size classes. No differences were found in niche breadth (p > 0.05), diet composition (Q = 2.0, p = 0.3678) and prey abundance (X 2 = 1.9756, p = 0.3759) among size classes. Caiman crocodilus chiapasius is protected by the Mexican law in the category of "special protection".

Keywords : Caiman; Diet; Development; Food niche.

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