Seed dispersal of the palm Acrocomia aculeata by the Blue-and-Yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna)

Silva, Leonardo Barbosa da; Pereira, Glauco Alves; Filho, Paulo Bai; Almeida, Natan Messias

doi:10.1590/1519-6984.244697

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These differences probably reflect differences in availability in urban areas, as T. catappa trees are commonly used in urban afforestaAon of Campo Grande. Furthermore, our results agreed with the study of Santos & Ragusa-Ne'o (2014), because we observed that the fruit of A. aculeata is one of the most important items included in the diet of Blueand-yellow Macaw, and as previously described this macaw acts as an efficient disperser of these diaspores (Silva et al 2021).…”

supporting

confidence: 93%

The Contribution of Citizen Science to the Knowledge on the Feeding Habits of Ara Ararauna in an Urban Area of Central Western Brazil

Appel

Porfírio

2023

Ornitol. Neotrop.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We aimed to analyze the food resources consumed by Ara ararauna (Linnaeus, 1758) in the urban area of Campo Grande, from the photographic records released on the WikiAves© platform by the professional and amateur photographers. We retrieved 36 records of A. ararauna feeding, while we identified 16 species of plants in the diet of A. ararauna. Fruits and seeds were the most consumed plant parts, and 75% of the species diet was composed of native plants. As there is no prior information available on the diet of this species in the urban area of Campo Grande, the records released on the WikiAves© platform helped us to answer several important questions regarding its feeding habits. We highlight the importance of planting native species in urban afforestation, as well as the maintenance of urban parks and green areas, to maintain the populations of A. ararauna in the city.

show abstract

supporting

confidence: 93%

The Contribution of Citizen Science to the Knowledge on the Feeding Habits of Ara Ararauna in an Urban Area of Central Western Brazil

Appel

Porfírio

2023

Ornitol. Neotrop.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As a granivorous species, the Little Corella, like most species in the Psittacidae, is not considered a primary seed disperser. However, many psittacids are incidental dispersers, as the synzoochorous and primarily stomatochorous transport of branchlets and fruit has been reported for a range of psittacids, primarily when disturbed while feeding (Sazima 2008;Blanco et al 2015Blanco et al , 2018Tella et al 2015Tella et al , 2016Spennemann 2020c;Silva et al 2021). Although their role as seed dispersers has been discussed at length for their native ecosystems in South America (Baños-Villalba et al 2017), explorations of their ecological function in the Australian setting have only just begun (Blanco et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A note on seed dispersal by Little Corellas Cacatua sanguinea

Spennemann¹

2023

AFO

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A flock of Little Corellas Cacatua sanguinea deposited six large American Sweetgum (Liquidambar) Liquidambar styraciflua fruit and three Mediterranean Cypress Cupressus sempervirens cones under the canopy of a Yellow Box Eucalyptus melliodora in a suburban backyard in Albury, New South Wales. Subsequent searches encountered American Sweetgum fruit under four further Yellow Boxes with evidence of pruning by Little Corellas. This is the first record of actual seed dispersal by the species, as well as of the use of American Sweetgum as food. These observations underline the importance of psittacids as incidental dispersers of plant seed.

show abstract

“…may cause some feeding individuals to fly away to finish eating on perches located at variable distances. On these occasions, parrots carry in their feet or beaks the fruits or seeds they were eating, dispersing them by stomatochory (e.g., Sazima, 2008;Baños-Villalba et al, 2017;Blanco et al, 2019;Tella et al, 2020;Silva et al, 2021). Stomatochory allows the transportation of larger fruits than endozoochory (Blanco et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…and 100% of the fruits (Attalea barreirensis, Attalea eichleri, and Acrocomia aculeata) (Tella et al, 2020;Silva et al, 2021). For smaller parrot species, these proportions are also highly variable (Sist and Puig, 1987).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This, in addition to their generalist diets and plastic feeding behaviors (Renton et al, 2015;Toft and Wright, 2015), may explain the pervasiveness of parrotplant interactions, involving not only native but also exotic parrot and plant species. In the case of palms, a few studies have demonstrated that parrots predate on palm seeds or consume the pulp of the fruit but are also legitimate long-distance dispersers of some Neotropical species (Sazima, 2008;Prada Villalobos and Araújo Bagno, 2012;Baños-Villalba et al, 2017;Luna et al, 2018;Blanco et al, 2019;Tella et al, 2020;Silva et al, 2021). However, the large overlap between palm and parrot distributions (Provost et al, 2018;Reichgelt et al, 2018) suggests that this avian order may play a major -though overlooked-role in palm ecology worldwide (Zona and Henderson, 1989;Muñoz et al, 2019;Dracxler and Kissling, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Worldwide Distribution of Antagonistic-Mutualistic Relationships Between Parrots and Palms

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Palms, like all plants, show coevolutionary relationships with animals that have been traditionally categorized as mutualistic (seed dispersers and pollinators) or antagonistic (seed predators). This dual perspective, however, has prevented a full understanding of their true interactions with some animal groups, mainly those that do not ingest entire fruits. One clear example is parrots, which have been described to use palm species as feeding resources, while their role as seed dispersers has been largely neglected. Here, we combined fieldwork data with information from the literature and citizen science (i.e., naturalists and nature photographers) on parrot foraging ecology worldwide to evaluate the spatial and taxonomic extent of parrot-palm interactions and to identify the eco-evolutionary factors involved. We identified 1,189 interactions between 135 parrots and 107 palm species in more than 50 countries across the six realms where palms are present as natives or introduced. Combining this information, we identified 427 unique parrot-palm interacting pairs (i.e., a parrot species interacting with a palm species). Pure antagonistic interactions (i.e., parrots just preying on seeds or eating or destroying their non-reproductive parts) were less common (5%) than mutualistic ones (i.e., parrots benefiting by partially preying on the seed or fruit or consuming the pulp of the fruit or the flower but also contributing to seed dispersal and, potentially, pollination; 89%). After controlling for phylogeny, the size of consumed seeds and parrot body mass were positively related. Seed dispersal distances varied among palm species (range of estimated median dispersal distances: 9–250 m), with larger parrots dispersing seeds at greater distances, especially large fruits commonly categorized as megafauna anachronisms (>4 cm length). Although parrot-palm interactions are widespread, several factors (e.g., social behavior, predation fear, food availability, or seasonality) may affect the actual position of parrots on the antagonism-mutualism continuum for different palm species and regions, deserving further research. Meanwhile, the pervasiveness of parrot-palm mutualistic interactions, mainly involving seed dispersal and pollination, should not be overlooked in studies of palm ecology and evolution.

show abstract

Seed dispersal of the palm Acrocomia aculeata by the Blue-and-Yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna)

Cited by 7 publications

References 15 publications

The Contribution of Citizen Science to the Knowledge on the Feeding Habits of Ara Ararauna in an Urban Area of Central Western Brazil

The Contribution of Citizen Science to the Knowledge on the Feeding Habits of Ara Ararauna in an Urban Area of Central Western Brazil

A note on seed dispersal by Little Corellas Cacatua sanguinea

Worldwide Distribution of Antagonistic-Mutualistic Relationships Between Parrots and Palms

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About