Handling by avian frugivores affects diaspore secondary removal

PloS One
Tadeu J GuerraFernando A O Silveira

Abstract

The balance between the costs and benefits of fleshy fruit production depends on the feeding behavior of their seed dispersers, which might effectively disperse seeds to farther areas or drop beneath parent plants some diaspores they handle during frugivory bouts. Nevertheless, the consequences of variation in fruit handling by primary seed dispersers on the secondary removal of diaspores remains poorly understood. We conducted a field study to determine how variation in fruit handling by avian frugivores affects short-term secondary removal of Miconia irwinii (Melastomataceae) diaspores by the ground-dwelling fauna in campo rupestre vegetation, southeastern Brazil. We conducted factorial experiments manipulating: (1) different outcomes of primary fruit/seed removal by birds, (2) distances of diaspore deposition from conspecifics, and (3) the access of ants and vertebrates to diaspores. We showed that secondary removal of diaspores was highly variable at the population scale, with an overall low removal rate by the ground-dwelling fauna (13% seeds, 19% fruits). However, we found that gut-passed seeds embedded in bird feces were less removed than seeds expelled from fruits. Gut-passed seeds were more likely to be removed by ant ...Continue Reading

References

May 17, 2006·Trends in Ecology & Evolution·Stephen B Vander Wall, William S Longland
Aug 3, 2010·The New Phytologist·Eugene W SchuppJosé María Gómez
Feb 24, 2016·Oecologia·Paulo H S A CamargoAlexander V Christianini

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Software Mentioned

Miconia
lme4
R

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