The invasive tree River Tamarind<i> Leucaena</i><i> leucocephala</i> as a seasonal food item for a threatened population of Southern Mealy Amazon<i> Amazona</i> farinosa

Abstract

Biological invasions are among the main threats to biodiversity, yet invasive species may also have positive impacts on native taxa, such as supplementing the diet of native species when other food items are less available. Herein, we assess whether the invasive River Tamarind Leucaena leucocephala, a small Fabaceae tree, is an important food item for a genetically distinct, threatened population of the Southern Mealy Amazon Amazona farinosa in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We surveyed citizen science platforms and published articles for feeding records of Southern Mealy Amazon to quantify the occurrence of River Tamarind seeds in its diet throughout the year, and assess if seed consumption differed between seasons. Our results showed that, although the density of records of fruit consumption is relatively constant throughout the year, consumption of River Tamarind seeds occurs almost exclusively during the dry season. Furthermore, seed prevalence in feeding events was also significantly higher during that time of the year. Our findings indicate that L. leucocephala represents an important source of nutrition for Atlantic Forest A. farinosa during the dry season. We highlight how citizen science may help to elucidate potentially positive interactions with invasive species and emphasize the need to better understand the ecological roles between the River Tamarind and threatened seed predators at different scales in the Neotropics.