Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 78 (3): 589-599, 2005
REVIEW ARTICLE
Trophic position of small mammals in Chile: a review
I reviewed dietary information of 25 species of small mammals inhabiting Chile and
published in 11 scientific articles. I divided the contribution of each food item in five categories: fungi, vegetation, seeds, fruits and
insects. This approach allowed me to represent the information documented in the form of De Finetti diagrams, in which the trophic
position of a species is represented by a point in an equilateral triangle. Through correspondence analysis, I determined statistically the
groups inside the diagram De Fenetti. This analysis allowed me to group the species in seven trophic categories: herbivorous,
insectivorous, omnivorous, granivorous-frugivorous, herbivorous/granivorous-frugivorous, herbivorous/insectivorous. Food habits of
species in Muridae family incorporate mixed diets with a percentage fluctuation of each item, changing its food habits significantly
among localities. The species A. bennetti, A. cinerea, A. andinus, C. lanigera,
L. viscacia, M. niata, O. bridgesi and Thylamys elegans incorporate
monospecific dietswith representativenessof 90 % of consumed item.
Key words:
small mammals,
trophic position, diet, Muridae, Octodontidae, Caviidae, Chinchillidae, Abrocomidae, marsupials, Chile
