Diet of the puma (Puma concolor) in the alpine highlands of the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve, Peru

Hector A. Luque-Machaca; Brian E. Oberheim; Gabriel Llerena-Reátegui; Omar Rodríguez-Bravo; Alfredo Loza Del Carpio; Joel I. Pacheco; Agustín Iriarte; Alfredo H. Zúñiga

doi:10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00226

Diet of the puma (Puma concolor) in the alpine highlands of the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve, Peru

Hector A. Luque-Machaca, Brian E. Oberheim, Gabriel Llerena-Reátegui, Omar Rodríguez-Bravo, Alfredo Loza Del Carpio, Joel I. Pacheco, Agustín Iriarte, Alfredo H. Zúñiga

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Abstract

The puma (Puma concolor) is widely distributed in the alpine highlands of the Andes, but its diet has rarely been described in ecosystems above 4300 m. We collected and examined 21 puma scats from the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve (RNSAB) between 2013 and 2015. We identified 10 species of prey, in addition to unidentified birds and small rodents. Small and medium animals were the most frequent prey, although wild camelids contributed the greatest proportion of biomass. We also recorded the presence of mesopredators and domestic dogs in puma scats. Our results suggest that the puma could play a key role in the configuration of trophic networks in the RNSAB, and that this can contribute considerably to the ecosystem balance.

Original language	English
Article number	e00226
Journal	Food Webs
Volume	31
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00226
State	Published - Jun 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Inc.

Keywords

Andes mountains
Apex predator
Camelids
Intraguild predation
Non-native prey
Trophic networks

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10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00226

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title = "Diet of the puma (Puma concolor) in the alpine highlands of the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve, Peru",

abstract = "The puma (Puma concolor) is widely distributed in the alpine highlands of the Andes, but its diet has rarely been described in ecosystems above 4300 m. We collected and examined 21 puma scats from the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve (RNSAB) between 2013 and 2015. We identified 10 species of prey, in addition to unidentified birds and small rodents. Small and medium animals were the most frequent prey, although wild camelids contributed the greatest proportion of biomass. We also recorded the presence of mesopredators and domestic dogs in puma scats. Our results suggest that the puma could play a key role in the configuration of trophic networks in the RNSAB, and that this can contribute considerably to the ecosystem balance.",

keywords = "Andes mountains, Apex predator, Camelids, Intraguild predation, Non-native prey, Trophic networks",

author = "Luque-Machaca, {Hector A.} and Oberheim, {Brian E.} and Gabriel Llerena-Re{\'a}tegui and Omar Rodr{\'i}guez-Bravo and Carpio, {Alfredo Loza Del} and Pacheco, {Joel I.} and Agust{\'i}n Iriarte and Z{\'u}{\~n}iga, {Alfredo H.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 Elsevier Inc.",

year = "2022",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00226",

language = "Ingl{\'e}s",

volume = "31",

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T1 - Diet of the puma (Puma concolor) in the alpine highlands of the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve, Peru

AU - Luque-Machaca, Hector A.

AU - Oberheim, Brian E.

AU - Llerena-Reátegui, Gabriel

AU - Rodríguez-Bravo, Omar

AU - Carpio, Alfredo Loza Del

AU - Pacheco, Joel I.

AU - Iriarte, Agustín

AU - Zúñiga, Alfredo H.

PY - 2022/6

Y1 - 2022/6

N2 - The puma (Puma concolor) is widely distributed in the alpine highlands of the Andes, but its diet has rarely been described in ecosystems above 4300 m. We collected and examined 21 puma scats from the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve (RNSAB) between 2013 and 2015. We identified 10 species of prey, in addition to unidentified birds and small rodents. Small and medium animals were the most frequent prey, although wild camelids contributed the greatest proportion of biomass. We also recorded the presence of mesopredators and domestic dogs in puma scats. Our results suggest that the puma could play a key role in the configuration of trophic networks in the RNSAB, and that this can contribute considerably to the ecosystem balance.

AB - The puma (Puma concolor) is widely distributed in the alpine highlands of the Andes, but its diet has rarely been described in ecosystems above 4300 m. We collected and examined 21 puma scats from the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve (RNSAB) between 2013 and 2015. We identified 10 species of prey, in addition to unidentified birds and small rodents. Small and medium animals were the most frequent prey, although wild camelids contributed the greatest proportion of biomass. We also recorded the presence of mesopredators and domestic dogs in puma scats. Our results suggest that the puma could play a key role in the configuration of trophic networks in the RNSAB, and that this can contribute considerably to the ecosystem balance.

KW - Andes mountains

KW - Apex predator

KW - Camelids

KW - Intraguild predation

KW - Non-native prey

KW - Trophic networks

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126273733&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00226

DO - 10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00226

M3 - Artículo

AN - SCOPUS:85126273733

SN - 2352-2496

VL - 31

JO - Food Webs

JF - Food Webs

M1 - e00226

ER -

Diet of the puma (Puma concolor) in the alpine highlands of the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve, Peru

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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