DOES MOONLIGHT SUPPRESS OR STIMULATE ACTIVITY OF A TROPICAL FOREST SMALL MAMMAL

Small nocturnal mammals must balance their activity to maximize foraging efficiency while reducing vulnerability predators, and moonlight has been widely investigated as a predation risk cue. Didelphis aurita, marsupial, can act both competitor an intraguild predator, prey, increasing or under this condition, respectively. We evaluated the effect of moonlight, temperature, age on bimodal pattern D. aurita in Atlantic Forest area, southeastern Brazil. Opossums were more active at low light conditions colder nights second peak. Adults peak, when compared juveniles subadults. suggest that observed behavior be consequence preference periods conditions, increase efficiency, since display features reflect specialization scotopic vision such tapetum lucidum.