Tokita, Norio and Nakiri, Sachie and Dewi, Bainah Sari and Tokita, Teruaki (2015) Nutritional characteristics of Konara (Quercus serrata) acorns and their parasitic weevil larva (Curculio dentipes) and its palatability to Japanese black bears (Ursus thibetanus) as a food source in autumn. Asian Journal of Plant Sciences, 5 (7). pp. 1-5. ISSN eISSN: 1812-5697 pISSN: 1682-3974

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Abstract

We investigated the chemical components and energy content of Konara (Quercus serrata) acorns and their parasitic larval insect(Curculio dentipes). We then fed acorns to Japanese black bears (Ursus thibetanus)in captivity and monitored their eating behavior to evaluate the palatability of acorn cotyledons, parasitic larvae, and larval feces. We purchased 70kg of fresh acornsof Q. serrate and randomly selected 2512 of them and found that 17.7% of seeds were attacked by weevil larvae. The contents of protein and fat in the larval body were 28.6% and 53.7%, respectively. The gross energy of the larval body was 29.6kJ/DM g and the energy value was 1.8 times higher than that of acorn embryos. Our results suggest that the consumption of larvae parasitizing the acorns of Q. serrate contributes to the acquisition of animal protein and energy under incidental predation by large post- dispersal acorn consumers, such as deer or wild boar. In addition, in our feeding experiment, bears discarded a coms filled with larval feces but showed much interest in living larvae and quickly consumed them finding them. This eating behavior shows that weevil larvae are highly palatable to bears, which may acquire animal protein and energy from them. Key words: Acorn, Cotyledons, Protein, Quercus serrata, Ursus thibetanus, Weevil

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	S Agriculture > SD Forestry
Divisions:	Fakultas Pertanian (FP) > Prodi Kehutanan
Depositing User:	Dr.Hj. Bainah Sari Dewi s.Hut., M.P.
Date Deposited:	23 Feb 2022 01:17
Last Modified:	23 Feb 2022 01:17
URI:	http://repository.lppm.unila.ac.id/id/eprint/39754

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