Table 1.

Percentages (mean ± SD) for specific items of all plant material found in fecal pellets of Octodon degus in winter 2005 and 2006. Fecal pellets collected from individual degus were pooled per burrow system to constitute 12 replicates (burrow systems) in 2005 and 5 in 2006.

Family Species	2005	2006
Herbs
AMARYLLIDACEAE
Phycella sp.	1.6 ± 2.2	0.6 ± 0.8
BORAGINACEAE
Pectocarya linearis	0.2 ± 0.3	0.7 ± 1.4
COMPOSITAE
Madia sativa	0.4 ± 0.9	0.2 ± 0.2
Soliva sessilis	5.1 ± 3.6	33.5 ± 20.8
CRUCIFERAE
Nasturtium officinale	0.4 ± 0.7	0
GERANIACEAE
Erodium cicutarium	2.4 ± 1.5	0.3 ± 0.6
Erodium malacoides	0.2 ± 0.4	0.4 ± 0.4
GRAMINEAE
Nassella sp.	5.4 ± 5.9	2.0 ± 1.8
Graminea sp.	15.4 ± 4.3	21.6 ± 16.2
PAPILIONACEAE
Medicago polymorpha	7.0 ± 6.6	0.4 ± 0.3
RUBIACEAE
Galium aparine	0.4 ± 0.3	0.2 ± 0.3
CYPERACEAE	0.9 ± 1.5	1.4 ± 1.5
Subtotal	39.4 ± 8.8	61.1 ± 19.5
Shrub foliage
MIMOSACEAE
Acacia caven	0.2 ± 0.4	0
Acacia floribunda	0.3 ± 0.8	0
ANACARDIACEAE
Lithrea caustica	0.2 ± 0.3	0.1 ± 0.2
Subtotal	0.7 ± 1.1	0.1 ± 0.2
Shrub seeds
Acacia floribunda (S)	0.04 ± 0.1	0.03 ± 0.1
Lithraea caustica (S)	2.1 ± 2.6	4.0 ± 2.1
Unidentified seeds	0.9 ± 0.7	0.4 ± 0.5
Subtotal	3.0 ± 2.9	4.4 ± 2.5
Unidentified fiber	43.5 ± 9.3	27.2 ± 15.7
Unidentified material	13.4 ± 5.3	7.0 ± 4.8