1. Botany, genetics and ethnobotany: a crossed investigation on the elusive tapir's diet in French Guiana
- Author
-
Daniel Sabatier, Judith Andrivot, Caroline Scotti-Saintagne, Jérôme Chave, Marie-Françoise Prévost, Fabrice Hibert, Sophie Gonzalez, Pierre Grenand, Henri Caron, Cécile Richard-Hansen, Direction Etudes et Recherches Guyane, Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), IRD/CNRS-OHM Oyapock, Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Biodiversité, Gènes & Communautés (BioGeCo), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Bordeaux (UB), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [Guyane])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,grand herbivore sauvage ,Ethnobotany ,Biodiversity ,TROPICAL FORESTS ,lcsh:Medicine ,forêt tropicale ,Plant Science ,HABITAT USE ,01 natural sciences ,Behavioral Ecology ,Feces ,LAND PLANTS ,lcsh:Science ,tapir ,impact sur la biodiversité ,Trophic level ,Multidisciplinary ,Ecology ,Geography ,RAIN-FOREST ,Plants ,Trophic Interactions ,French Guiana ,régime alimentaire ,Mammalogy ,Community Ecology ,extraction d'adn ,TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE ,Seasons ,Tapir ,Ecosystem Functioning ,Research Article ,Ecology (disciplines) ,Foraging ,CONSERVATION ,Rainforest ,Biology ,animal sauvage ,écosystème ,010603 evolutionary biology ,TERRESTRIS ,Ecosystems ,EMPTY FOREST ,pcr ,Species Specificity ,biology.animal ,Botany ,Animals ,alimentation de l'animal ,Herbivory ,Terrestrial Ecology ,Perissodactyla ,Evolutionary Biology ,Herbivore ,botanique ,010604 marine biology & hydrobiology ,lcsh:R ,SEED-DISPERSAL ,15. Life on land ,DNA-SEQUENCES ,Diet ,Plant ecology ,Species Interactions ,Fruit ,guyane française ,lcsh:Q ,[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology ,Zoology - Abstract
International audience; While the populations of large herbivores are being depleted in many tropical rainforests, the importance of their trophic role in the ecological functioning and biodiversity of these ecosystems is still not well evaluated. This is due to the outstanding plant diversity that they feed upon and the inherent difficulties involved in observing their elusive behaviour. Classically, the diet of elusive tropical herbivores is studied through the observation of browsing signs and macroscopic analysis of faeces or stomach contents. In this study, we illustrate that the original coupling of classic methods with genetic and ethnobotanical approaches yields information both about the diet diversity, the foraging modalities and the potential impact on vegetation of the largest terrestrial mammal of Amazonia, the lowland tapir. The study was conducted in the Guianan shield, where the ecology of tapirs has been less investigated. We identified 92 new species, 51 new genera and 13 new families of plants eaten by tapirs. We discuss the relative contribution of our different approaches, notably the contribution of genetic barcoding, used for the first time to investigate the diet of a large tropical mammal, and how local traditional ecological knowledge is accredited and valuable for research on the ecology of elusive animals.
- Published
- 2011
- Full Text
- View/download PDF