Abstract

TELLEZ-FARFAN, Lorena  and  SANCHEZ, Francisco Alejandro. Foraging Behavior of Zonotrichia capensis (Passeriformes: Emberizidae) and Patch Value in Young Live Fences in the Bogotá High Plateau. Acta biol.Colomb. [online]. 2016, vol.21, n.2, pp.379-385. ISSN 0120-548X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/abc.v21n2.52605.

The Rufous-collared Sparrow Zonotrichia capensis is a widely distributed species in neotropical America, it is tolerant to human interventions, but we know little about its foraging ecology on the Colombian Andes. Therefore, we studied the foraging strategy and, additionally, the value of foraging patches along two young live fences (< 2 year planted) in relation to the Bogota River in Cajica, in an Andean highland plateau in Colombia. The Bogota River is one of few areas dominated by arboreal vegetation in an urban-rural matrix at the study site. We used artificial food patches made of aluminum trays with seeds mixed with sand. We measured the proportion of food consumed in patches with different initial food density to determine whether sparrows obtain information from the patch. We also used artificial patches to determine whether distance to the river affected the sparrow's foraging in two young live fences. Our results indicate that Z. capensis did not gather any information from the patch and did not differentiate patches with different amounts of food. Furthermore, the distance to the river affected the value of food patches, but only in one of the live fences, where there was higher food consumption close to the river. Apparently, the food initial-density did not affect the patch exploitation level by sparrows, but the patch value in young live fences could be influenced by distance to the river.

Keywords : Andes; Colombia; foraging strategy; optimal foraging; use of space.

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