Diet of the harvestman Leiobunum formosum (Opiliones, Sclerosomatidae)c.
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| Titel: | Diet of the harvestman Leiobunum formosum (Opiliones, Sclerosomatidae)c. |
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| Autoren: | Vos, Samantha1, Townsend, Victor R.1 vtownsend@vwu.edu, Schaus, Maynard H.1, Wiltshire, Sara A.1, Hofstetter, Jacob D.1 |
| Quelle: | Arachnology. 2025, Vol. 20 Issue 3, p352-360. 9p. |
| Schlagwörter: | *DIET, *FORAGING behavior, *OPILIONES, *ANIMAL feeding, *HERBIVORES, *STABLE isotope analysis |
| Abstract: | The diet of the harvestman Leiobunum formosum (Opiliones, Sclerosomatidae) was investigated using observations of foraging individuals, feeding trials, scanning electron microscopy of faecal samples, and stable isotope data. In the field, harvestmen were rarely observed feeding (only eight out of 351 observations) but, when provided with different types of food, showed a significant preference for sliced fruit over acorns, pokeweed berries, or rocks (negative control). Laboratory feeding trials indicated that L. formosum would readily feed on a variety of plant, animal, and fungal foods. SEM examinations of 81 faecal pellets from field-collected adults revealed considerable variety in the diet, including evidence of herbivory, fungivory, fragments of arthropods, and stiff bristles of annelids. The occurrence of identifiable remains of these food items indicates that these harvestmen lack the capacity to digest cellulose or chitin completely. Our stable isotope analyses indicate that L. formo-sum is a generalist forager, with a large degree of variability among individuals. Mean δ15N signatures were similar to that observed for syntopic spiders, indicating carnivory. However, individuals ranged from feeding on a mix of plant and animal foods at the low end of the range to consuming a mixture of herbivorous and carnivorous invertebrates at the high end of the range. Overall, our results suggest that it is advisable to utilize a variety of complementary approaches for diet investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Datenbank: | Academic Search Index |
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Nájsť tento článok vo Web of Science | Abstract: | The diet of the harvestman Leiobunum formosum (Opiliones, Sclerosomatidae) was investigated using observations of foraging individuals, feeding trials, scanning electron microscopy of faecal samples, and stable isotope data. In the field, harvestmen were rarely observed feeding (only eight out of 351 observations) but, when provided with different types of food, showed a significant preference for sliced fruit over acorns, pokeweed berries, or rocks (negative control). Laboratory feeding trials indicated that L. formosum would readily feed on a variety of plant, animal, and fungal foods. SEM examinations of 81 faecal pellets from field-collected adults revealed considerable variety in the diet, including evidence of herbivory, fungivory, fragments of arthropods, and stiff bristles of annelids. The occurrence of identifiable remains of these food items indicates that these harvestmen lack the capacity to digest cellulose or chitin completely. Our stable isotope analyses indicate that L. formo-sum is a generalist forager, with a large degree of variability among individuals. Mean δ15N signatures were similar to that observed for syntopic spiders, indicating carnivory. However, individuals ranged from feeding on a mix of plant and animal foods at the low end of the range to consuming a mixture of herbivorous and carnivorous invertebrates at the high end of the range. Overall, our results suggest that it is advisable to utilize a variety of complementary approaches for diet investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 20509928 |