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Trophic Ecology of Rusty-Spotted Genet Genetta Maculata and Slender

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Trophic Ecology of Rusty-Spotted Genet Genetta Maculata and Slender Trophic ecology of rusty-spotted genet Genetta maculata and slender mongoose Herpestes sanguineus in Telperion Nature Reserve, with a focus on dietary segregation as a possible mechanism of coexistence By Julia Zemouche 595534 A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE (ZOOLOGY) in the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand 2018 Supervisor: Dr Zimkitha Madikiza Co-supervisors: Prof. Emmanuel Do Linh San (UFH) Dr W. Maartin Strauss (UNISA) Declaration I, Julia Zemouche (595534), hereby declare that this dissertation is my own unaided work. It is being submitted for the Degree of Master of Science at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination at any other university. Signature: ________________________________ 29/05/2018 i Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge my supervisor, Dr Kim Madikiza, and co- supervisors, Prof. Emmanuel Do Linh San and Dr Maartin Strauss. You have provided endless support and guidance throughout this study, for which I am incredibly grateful. Your assistance in the field was always welcome and I learned a great deal from all of you. I would also like to thank the Oppenheimer family for allowing me to conduct my research at Telperion Nature Reserve. Special thanks go out to the various staff at Telperion who always made my visits pleasant and assisted me on many occasions. Ms. Rouxlyn Roux and Ms. Diana Moyo also deserve a special mention for assisting me with fieldwork and providing me with company. This study would not have been possible without the generous support of the Govan Mbeki Research and Development Centre (GMRDC) at the University of Fort Hare, as well as the National Research Foundation (NRF) through a Competitive Support for Unrated Researchers’ grant (Grant No 105998) to Prof. Do Linh San and a NRF free-standing MSc bursary to myself. I also need to acknowledge the patience, love and support I received from my husband, Said Zemouche, and mother, Veronica Armitage. Your understanding during the times when I was away for fieldwork or busy with other aspects of this project is greatly appreciated and your continuous stream of encouragement throughout this wonderful journey has helped immensely. Lastly, to my father Ronald Armitage, I sincerely regret that you were unable to be here for this experience. My fondest memories of you are from the time you spent driving me around the farm and pointing out every animal, insect and plant. Your love for nature is what fostered my own love for the subject and I know you would have been so very proud of the path I have taken. I would therefore like to dedicate this research to you, in loving memory. ii Abstract The diets of the rusty-spotted genet Genetta maculata and slender mongoose Herpestes sanguineus were investigated in Telperion Nature Reserve. A total of 196 genet scats and 97 mongoose scats were collected from latrines between April 2016 and August 2017. Scats were washed, oven dried at 50°C for 24 hours and their contents separated. Diet was determined through the identification of undigested food remains in the scats and hair scale patterns were used to identify which specific mammal species were consumed. Arthropod and small mammal abundance in Telperion Nature Reserve was also determined. Small mammals and arthropods were found to be the dominant prey of G. maculata, with birds, reptiles, seeds/fruit pulp, plant material and amphibians serving as supplementary food sources. Intermediate-to-high diet diversity and diet breadth indices were obtained for all seasons and diet overlap between pairs of seasons was also intermediate-to-high. For H. sanguineus, arthropods were the dominant prey, with mammals, birds, reptiles, seeds/fruit pulp, plant material and amphibians acting as supplementary food sources. Low-to- intermediate diet diversity and low diet breadth indices were obtained for all seasons and diet overlap between pairs of seasons was very high. While no significant seasonal variation was observed for H. sanguineus, the seasonal peaks in availability of mammals and arthropods were found to coincide with peaks in the consumption of these two food categories by both species. The results therefore suggest that G. maculata is a generalist opportunist feeder and H. sanguineus is a generalist selector, with both species supplementing their diet when preferred food items become less abundant and varying diet according to season in response to seasonal changes in prey availability. Diet was fairly similar for these species, with dietary overlap being highest during spring and summer. Considering the dietary overlap observed, it is possible that trophic segregation on its own may not be enough to facilitate coexistence between G. maculata and H. sanguineus. However, the slight within-category differences that were noted may aid in decreasing trophic overlap. It is therefore possible that other factors such as temporal and spatial segregation, in conjunction with the slight trophic differences, aid in facilitating coexistence between G. maculata and H. sanguineus in Telperion Nature Reserve. Key words: arthropods, coexistence, diet, diet breadth, diet diversity, diet overlap, generalist feeder, generalist opportunist, generalist selector, Genetta maculata, Herpestes sanguineus, prey availability, scat analysis, small mammals, specialist feeder, trophic segregation. iii Table of Contents Declaration................................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. ii Abstract ................................................................................................................................... iii Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Rationale ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Literature review ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2.1 The importance of dietary studies .......................................................................................... 1 1.2.2 Methods of collecting dietary information ............................................................................. 3 1.2.3 The importance of dietary studies in carnivores .................................................................... 4 1.2.4 Using diet analysis to understand coexistence ....................................................................... 5 1.2.5 Background information on the rusty-spotted genet .............................................................. 7 1.2.6 Background information on the slender mongoose ............................................................... 9 1.3 Aim, objectives and predictions .................................................................................................. 10 1.4 Dissertation outline ..................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2: Food availability: small mammal and arthropod sampling ........................... 12 2.1 Methods and materials ................................................................................................................ 12 2.2 Results ......................................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 3: Trophic ecology of rusty-spotted genet Genetta maculata in Telperion Nature Reserve .................................................................................................................................... 19 3.1 Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 19 3.2 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 19 3.3 Methods and materials ................................................................................................................ 21 3.3.1 Study site .............................................................................................................................. 21 3.3.2 Scat collection ...................................................................................................................... 22 3.3.3 Scat analysis ......................................................................................................................... 22 3.3.4 Expression of results ............................................................................................................ 23 3.4 Results ......................................................................................................................................... 25 3.4.1 Overall diet and seasonal variations in the diet of the rusty-spotted genet ......................... 25 3.5 Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 33 3.5.1 Overall diet of the rusty-spotted genet ................................................................................
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