Parrots consume sodium-rich palms in the sodium-deprived landscape of the Western Amazon Basin

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 91% of the 721 foraging bouts recorded) and lowest in leaves (consumed
in only 14% of foraging bouts). The low potassium and high Na:K ratio
suggest that birds may be seeking not just any ...

植食性动物在不同地理区域会面临不同种类的矿物质缺乏问题。在亚马逊流域，钠元素往往是限制性营养因子，促使植食性动物寻求额外的钠补充来源。
在西亚马逊流域的低地生境中，鹦鹉常通过黏土舔食点（clay licks）摄取富含钠的土壤，但不同鹦鹉物种对舔食点的利用差异显著；截至目前，该区域鹦鹉尚未被报道过通过其他途径补充钠元素。
本研究记录了秘鲁低地地区11种鹦鹉类（psittacines）取食生长于富钠土壤中的巴蒂棕榈（Attalea butyracea）的富含钠的叶片与茎干。
相较于该区域未被取食的巴蒂棕榈以及其他棕榈物种，被鹦鹉取食的巴蒂棕榈钠含量更高、钾含量更低。
在巴蒂棕榈的不同组织中，茎干的钠含量与钠钾比（Na:K）最高——在记录的721次觅食事件中，有91%的取食事件针对茎干；而叶片的钠含量与钠钾比最低，仅14%的取食事件指向叶片。
低钾含量与高钠钾比提示，这些鸟类所寻求的或许并非单纯的……