Seasonal consumption of insects by the crested porcupine in Central Italy

AbstractMany herbivorous, granivorous and frugivorous rodents can integrate animal proteins in their diet, still for many of them no information is available on the importance of animal food sources. The crested porcupine, Hystrix cristata, is considered a strictly vegetarian rodent. It may integrate animal proteins through bone-gnawing, while the importance of insects in his diet is poorly known. In this study we assessed the presence of insects in the diet of this rodent in Central Italy by collecting 141 faecal samples along transects in 2016–2020. Hypogeal plant organs were the main component of the diet (absolute frequency = 50.38%; volume = 60.13%). Insects were detected only in 6.8% samples, only in February–March, at the annual birth peak for the crested porcupine. Insect consumption, although occasional, could be linked to the nutritional requirements of this rodent during lactation.

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Blessing the rains down in Africa: spatiotemporal behaviour of the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata (Mammalia: Rodentia) in the rainy and dry seasons, in the African savannah

Tropical Zoology ◽

10.4081/tz.2020.80 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andrea Viviano ◽

Giovanni Amori ◽

Luca Luiselli ◽

Horst Oebel ◽

Farid Bahleman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Rainy Season ◽

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Temporal Patterns ◽

Common Species ◽

Wild Mammals ◽

Activity Rhythms ◽

Hystrix Cristata ◽

Crested Porcupine ◽

Birth Peak

The assessment of habitat selection and temporal patterns of activity rhythms is paramount for wildlife conservation. Studies on behavioural ecology of wild mammals are particularly challenging in tropical areas, mostly when involving rare or elusive species. Despite being a common species in Italy, the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata is threatened of extinction throughout most of its sub-Saharan range. All available information on the ecology of this species has been collected in Italy, whereas no data is present in the scientific literature on spatiotemporal behaviour of this large rodent in Africa. In this work, we attempted to determine habitat selection and temporal patterns of activity rhythms of the crested porcupine in northern Benin and neighbouring countries, through intensive camera-trapping. We collected a total of 146 records of crested porcupine, 91 in the dry season (October-March) and 55 in the rainy season (April-September). Porcupines used most habitats in proportion to their local availability, while selecting rock outcrop formations (possibly used as shelter sites) and avoiding open areas, wetlands and gallery forests. A mostly nocturnal behaviour was confirmed throughout the year, with some diurnal activity at the start and at the end of the rainy season. The importance of rains in determining birth peak has been also showed, with juvenile individuals always observed at the start and at the end of the rainy season. Full moon always inhibited activity of this large rodent, most likely evolved as an antipredatory behaviour to limit encounters with potential predators (common leopard Panthera pardus, spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta and honey badger Mellivora capensis) and humans. Poaching pressure towards porcupines in West Africa is strong. Porcupines are killed for the traditional medicine, for their meat and because they are widely considered as a crop pest. This assessment should therefore be used as a basic tool to design conservation plans to preserve this rodent species in its native range.

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Feeding habits of the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata L. 1758 (Mammalia, Rodentia) in a Mediterranean area of Central Italy

The European Zoological Journal ◽

10.1080/24750263.2017.1329358 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 84 (1) ◽

pp. 261-265 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

E Mori ◽

R. Bozzi ◽

A. Laurenzi

Keyword(s):

Feeding Habits ◽

Central Italy ◽

Mediterranean Area ◽

Hystrix Cristata ◽

Crested Porcupine

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Ectoparasite load in the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata Linnaeus, 1758 in Central Italy

Parasitology Research ◽

10.1007/s00436-015-4413-3 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 114 (6) ◽

pp. 2223-2229 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Emiliano Mori ◽

Andrea Sforzi ◽

Mattia Menchetti ◽

Giuseppe Mazza ◽

Sandro Lovari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Central Italy ◽

Hystrix Cristata ◽

Crested Porcupine ◽

Ectoparasite Load

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Zoophytophagy in predatory Hemiptera

Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology ◽

10.1590/s1516-89132009000500018 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 52 (5) ◽

pp. 1199-1208 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Jorge Braz Torres ◽

David W. Boyd

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

Salivary Glands ◽

Amylase Activity ◽

Trophic Levels ◽

Food Sources ◽

Nutritional Requirements ◽

Animal Food ◽

Discriminatory Analysis ◽

Presence And Absence

Predaceous hemipteran feeding on different trophic levels have raised questions about their ecology and role in biological control. Therefore, specific adaptations allowing them to simultaneously use plants and animals as sources for their nutritional requirements are important. Enzymatic variability in predatory hemipterans has been suggested as the basic adaptation for convergent or divergent to omnivory. Thus, the salivary enzymatic complexes of predatory hemipterans have been furnished a partial understanding of the mechanisms permitting switching between plant and animal food sources. In this study, a discriminatory analysis was performed to attribute trophic habits to each insect investigated based on the presence and absence of salivary enzyme combinations. Although peptidase is found in all tested predatory hemipterans' salivary glands, it is not a distinguishing enzyme because it has been found in phytophagous species as well. However, the presence of peptidase and amylase activity in hemipteran salivary glands is considered to be an explanation for these insects' ability to switch their diet, predators feeding on plants (amylase) and herbivores taking prey (peptidase).

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