Food habits and resource partitioning of carnivores (Herpestidae, Viverridae) in the rainforests of southeastern Nigeria: Preliminary results

The diets of four carnivores species (Herpestes ichneumon, Atilax paludinos us, Civettictis civetta, Genetta maculata) were studied in the continued fo rest zone of southern Nigeria. 29 stomachs of H. ichneumon, 29 of A. paludi nosus, 27 of C. civetta, and 22 of G. maculata were examined. The numbers o f empty stomachs varied from 9 % to 17 %, and did not differ significantly amongst species. H. ichneumon proved to be primarily mammalophagous. A. pal udinosus was an "invertebratophagous" species, whereas C. civetta and G. ma culata fed essentially on both invertebrates and mammals. The niche breadth s of C. civetta and G. maculata were quite similar, whereas the niche posit ions of H. ichneumon and A. paludinosus were very different from those of t he two former species and from each other. In particular, A. paludinosus wa s more specialized than any other predator. This evidence mirrors the phylo genetic position of the various species, as the former two taxa are Viverri dae and the latter two species are Herpestidae. From Principal Component An alysis of the dietary data, it resulted that H. ichneumon and G. maculata a re very similar in terms of dietary niche, and differ from the other two sp ecies which are also very different from each other. The general ecological context of the coexistence of these species in the rainforest ecosystem of tropical Africa is also discussed.