Food Composition of the Endemic Plain Swift Apus unicolor in the Canary Islands (Macaronesia)

[摘要] AsafirststeptoinvestigatetheforagingecologyofthePlainSwiftApusunicoloratheCanaryIslands,westudiedthefoodbroughttothenestlings.Atotalof12,800aerialpreyitemswereidentifiedfrom32foodboluses.97.3%ofthepreyitemswereinsects,mostofwhich(96%)werefromtheordersColeoptera,Diptera,HemipteraandHymenoptera.OtherordersrepresentedwereDermaptera,Ephemeroptera,Lepidoptera,Mecoptera,PsocopteraandThysanoptera.Spidersmadeup2.6%ofthepreyitems.Preysizesrangedfrom0.5mm(bodylength)to9.7mm(average2.46mm,SD0.90).Therewassubstantialvariationinthepreytypesamongthe32foodboluses,bothatthelevelofordersandoffamilies.Preysizewasmoresimilaramongthebolusessuggestingthatpreysizewasmoreimportantthanpreytypetotheswifts.Theresultsareinagreementwithpreviousstudiesofswiftdiets.

[学科分类] 动物科学

[关键词] Oceanic Islands