Herbivorous animals face shortages of different minerals in different geographic areas. In the Amazon Basin, sodium is often limiting, driving herbivores to seek supplemental sources. In the lowlands of the western Amazon Basin, parrots commonly consume sodium-rich soils at clay licks but lick use varies widely among species, and to date, parrots in the region have not been reported consuming other supplemental sodium sources. We document 11 species of psittacines consuming sodium-rich leaves and trunks of Attalea butyracea palms growing on sodium-rich soils in lowland Peru. Consumed palms had more sodium and less potassium than uneaten A. butyracea palms and other palm species in the area. Among A. butyracea palm parts, sodium and Na:K ratios were highest in trunks (consumed by parrots in 94% of the 387 foraging bouts recorded) and lowest in leaves (consumed in only 14% of foraging bout...

The Amazon rainforest is one of the most biodiverse and at the same time most threatened ecosystems in the biosphere. Its different habitats provide a unique floristic pattern. Therefore, we aimed to identify the floristic arboreal composition in an area of the Amazon rainforest and determine the local patterns of diversity in its different habitats. This study was conducted around the Tambopata Research Center, Madre de Dios, Peru. To achieve our goals, we established 20 (50 × 30 m) plots distributed equally in four habitats, these being: Mauritia Palm Swamp, Floodplain Forest, Successional Floodplain Forest, and Tierra Firme Forest. In each plot, we collected all individuals with a diameter at a breast height ≥ of 10 cm. Subsequently, the individuals were identified and classified by cluster and diversity analysis. We found 57 families, 173 genera, 300 species, and 1958 individuals....

The Amazon rainforest is one of the most biodiverse and at the same time most threatened ecosystems in the biosphere. Its different habitats provide a unique floristic pattern. Therefore, we aimed to identify the floristic arboreal composition in an area of the Amazon rainforest and determine the local patterns of diversity in its different habitats. This study was conducted around the Tambopata Research Center, Madre de Dios, Peru. To achieve our goals, we established 20 (50 × 30 m) plots distributed equally in four habitats, these being: Mauritia Palm Swamp, Floodplain Forest, Successional Floodplain Forest, and Tierra Firme Forest. In each plot, we collected all individuals with a diameter at a breast height ≥ of 10 cm. Subsequently, the individuals were identified and classified by cluster and diversity analysis. We found 57 families, 173 genera, 300 species, and 1958 individuals....