Trophic Spatial Variations in the Southern River Otter, Lontra provocax, in Freshwater Habitats, Chile

We assessed spatial differences composition between different water bodies in diet of southern river otter (Lontra provocax, Thomas, 1908) from 196 scats collected between years 2003-2006 during surveys in freshwater environments in south of Chile (39° and 40 S and 71.5° and 73° W). For the whole study area, crustaceans from two genera (Samastacus sp. and Aegla sp.) were the otter’s main food category, representing almost 100 % frequency of occurrence of the consumed preys. Fish can be considered as secondary item in a general approximation to otter diet. Predation upon others vertebrates (amphibians, birds and mammals) and invertebrate (mussels and insects) were rather rare in the diet of the otter, while no reptiles were observed. We described occurrence, frequency of occurrence and quantity of prey items to compare the otter diet between freshwater habitats (rivers, streams and lakes). We discuss implications of our results and compare it with similar diet studies on the species.