Trophic ecology and foraging behaviour of Neotropical tanagers: fruit–frugivore relationships and arthropod foraging

Abstract Resource partitioning remains a central ecological issue for understanding the structures of animal communities. As members of the generalist New World Thraupidae bird family, tanagers can help reinforce knowledge of animal communities. Thus, to study bird trophic ecology and relationships, I followed six tanager species ( Schistochlamys ruficapillus, Tangara desmaresti, Stilpnia cayana, Stephanophorus diadematus, Thraupis sayaca and Dacnis cayana ) from the Ibitipoca State Park, south-eastern Brazil, for 12 months. I expected 1) more similarities among frugivorous behaviours when compared to the similarities in the frugivorous diet, 2) no differences between the predation behaviours on arthropods against the use of substrates to capture them, 3) no specialisation in the bird–fruit seed dispersal network and 4) similarities of frugivorous diet and substrate use equal those expected by chance due to the absence of specialisation in frugivory and limited use of substrates. Several ecological and behavioural factors seemed to determine the ways in which Ibitipoca tanagers consumed fruits to reduce similarities in diets and reveal network specialisation. On the other hand, the analysis of predation behaviour indicated that tanager species used similar tactics to reach arthropods randomly on substrates. In general, frugivory seems to be more relevant in trophic partitioning than foraging on arthropods in Ibitipoca tanagers.