Avian fruit preferences across a Puerto Rican forested landscape: pattern consistency and implications for seed removal

Abstract

Avian fruit consumption may ensure plant reproductive success when frugivores show consistent preference patterns and effectively remove and disperse seeds. In this study we examined avian fruit preferences and their seed-removal services at five study sites in north-central Puerto Rico. At each site, we documented the diet of seven common fruit-eating avian species from February to September 1998. Using foraging observations and area-based estimates of fruit abundance, we examined preference patterns of birds. We found that 7 out of 68 fleshy-fruited plant species were responsible for most of the fruit diet of birds. Seventeen plant species were preferred and four of them were repeatedly preferred across several study sites and times by at least one avian species. Preferred plant species comprised a small percentage of fleshy fruits at each site (<15% in four out of five study sites), but showed extended phenology patterns. The quantity of seeds removed by frugivore species was not strictly related to preferences. Some frugivores showing no preference could effectively remove more seeds from plants at some locations than species exhibiting constancy in their patterns of preference. Only two frugivores, Euphonia musica and Vireo altiloquous, removed most of the seeds of plants for which they exhibited repeated preference across the landscape. Preference patterns, particularly those exhibiting consistency in space and time for plant species having prolonged fruiting periods, may have important mechanistic consequences for the persistence, succession, and regeneration of tropical plant communities.

Phenology of tropical understory trees: patterns and correlates

“…We did this by analyzing two potential important ecological variables that could influence the evolution of phenological patterns: crop size and susceptibility to pathogen attack. Plants producing crops of different sizes are likely to attract different suites of seed dispersers (Gautier-Hion et al 1985, Wheelwright & Janson 1985, Foster 1990, Carlo et al 2003. Susceptibility to pathogen attack could reflect the degree to which fruits and seeds are chemically defended (Tewksbury et al 2008) which likely affects disperser identity and the relative benefits of different phenological patterns (Cipollini & Levey 1997).…”

Individual variance in the attributes of Clusia salvinii Donn. Smith associated with the attraction of frugivores in the dispersal of fruits and seeds

“…Acorde con Willson y Traveset (2000), la variación en las características morfométricas como el peso del fruto, el peso de arilos, así como el número y peso de semillas pueden tener efecto en la dispersión. De esta forma, se podría esperar que los frugívoros visiten con mayor frecuencia a las plantas con frutos más atractivos por su visibilidad y abundancia y logren dispersar mayor número de semillas (Carlo, Collazo, & Groom, 2003;Jordano, García, Godoy, & García-Castaño, 2007).…”

“…The taller tree height exposes the fruit to a greater extent by protruding from a homogeneous arboreal layer in its elevation, being more visible and, therefore, more attractive to the frugivores (Carlo et al, 2003). It is possible that tree height facilitates the asigna para su reproducción o como recompensa para los dispersores.…”

“…According to Willson and Traveset (2000), the variance in the morphometric characteristics, such as weight of the fruit and weight of the arils, as well as the number and weight of the seeds, can have an effect on the dispersal. In this manner, it could be expected that the frugivores visit with higher frequency plants with more attractive fruit because of their visibility and abundance, and thus manage to disperse a greater number of seeds (Carlo, Collazo, & Groom, 2003;Jordano, García, Godoy, & García-Castaño, 2007). …”

Dendrometry and litterfall of neotropical pioneer and early secondary tree species

“…In several cases, the seedling plantings constitute a necessary step to obtain satisfactory regeneration since others strategies such as direct sowing or natural regeneration have not produced the expected results (Parrotta & Knowles 1999, Camargo et al 2002. Additionally, tree establishment contributes to a fast recovery of ecological processes and parameters e. g. the incremental accumulation of litter, nutrient cycling, and the increase in faunal and floral diversity (Carlo et al 2003, Ruiz-Jaén & Aide 2005.…”