Seasonal diet of the Grey heron Ardea cinerea in an insular environment (Tenerife, Canary Islands): indirect interaction with wild seed plants

Abstract

In 199 pellets analyzed a total of 7 460 prey items were counted, 96.2% of which were arthropods. Aeshnidae larvae (Odonata) made up 66.1% of the total prey items and were the main invertebrate group. Vertebrates constituted 3.8%, with reptiles and mammals being the main prey of this type (1.8% each). Despite the small size of the invertebrates, this group reached > 60% in terms of biomass. All the main prey items varied significantly among seasons. Odonata was the most important group in all seasons, reaching its maximum value in summer. In the case of verte- brates, reptiles were captured mainly in spring, mammals in winter. With regard to indirect interaction with seeds, a total of 901 seeds associated with lizard remains were found in 77 pellets, indicating that they had previously been con- sumed by these reptiles. External visual damage of seeds was low and only 1.1% was destroyed. No seeds germinated after the four-month germination experiment and practically all of them were unviable. In conclusion, these results indicate that Grey Heron diet on islands varies in comparison with continental zones, including an important number of invertebrates and reptiles. Furthermore, this bird acts as an opportunistic secondary seed disperser, although its ecological effect does not seem to be very significant for the dynamics of the Canary Island ecosystems.