Single–meal maximum ingestion of the invasive mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) for evaluating food consumption in the field

Abstract

Quantifying the food composition of invasive predatory mammals by biomass ingested could be valuable for assessing their top–down effects, although it has rarely been estimated. Using gut content analyses is difficult because there is no direct way to estimate the ingested biomass of large prey items, which provide invasive predatory mammals with more than a single–meal. We examined the single–meal maximum ingestion of the small Indian mongoose in relation to its body weight by feeding trials. The result showed the relationship of Y = 0.260X 0.807, where Y is the single meal maximum ingestion (g) and X is the body weight of the mongoose (g)). The average single meal maximum ingestion of the mongoose with a weight of 500.0 ± 3.6 g (mean ± SE, n = 1961) was estimated to be 38.9 ± 0.23 g. Our findings may help create a direct linkage between the food analyses and impact assessments of invasive predatory mammals. © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2009.