Crop size, plant aggregation, and microhabitat type affect fruit removal by birds from individual melastome plants in the Upper Amazon

Blendinger, Pedro G.; Loiselle, Bette A.; Blake, John G.

doi:10.1007/s00442-008-1146-3

Cited by 61 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…4). Although the amount of fruit removal is frequently variable in space and time (Ortíz-Pulido and Rico-Gray 2000), and can be aVected by local neighbourhood and frugivore abundance (García et al 2001;see Blendinger et al 2008 for examples with other Miconia species), fruit crop size usually accounts for a large proportion of among-plant variation in fruit removal by primary dispersal agents (Howe 1980;Davidar and Morton 1986;Jordano and Schupp 2000;Blendinger et al 2008). Thus birds could be comparatively more important for seed dispersal in plants producing large fruit crops (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The relevance of ants as seed rescuers of a primarily bird-dispersed tree in the Neotropical cerrado savanna

2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The scale at which seed dispersal operates has many implications for the spatial patterns of plant recruitment and diversity. We investigated the effect of short- (ants) and long-distance (birds) seed dispersal of the fleshy-fruited melastome, Miconia rubiginosa, in the Brazilian savanna. We estimated the contribution of dispersal vectors to the removal of the fruit crop from the canopy (birds), and once seeds have reached the cerrado floor (ants) over two fruiting seasons. Birds (13 species) removed up to 23.7% of the fruit crop from the crown, but dropped a substantial proportion of fruits beneath the parent plant. Birds removed a greater proportion of fruits from trees producing large fruit crops, as predicted by the fruit crop size hypothesis. However, up to 18.9% of the fruit crop fell beneath the parent plant as ripe fruit. Most fallen fruits were removed by ants (seven genera), which are likely to play a relatively important role in terms of the quantity of seeds dispersed, especially for plants producing small fruit crops (a conceptual model is presented). Birds and ants did not influence seed germination, but they differ in terms of the spatial scale of dispersal and deposition patterns. Ants probably play an important role in the local population dynamics of Miconia, whereas birds are responsible for long-distance dispersal associated with the colonization of new patches and metapopulation dynamics. By removing seeds from bird droppings, ants may also reshape at a finer scale the seed rain generated by primary dispersers. Indeed, seedlings and saplings of Miconia are more frequently found around leaf-cutter ant nests than in control areas away from ant nests or around large Miconia trees. The quantitative component of dispersal effectiveness by ants acting as "rescuers" of seeds that fail to be dispersed, or fall under parent trees, is probably more important than currently recognized in other systems.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The relevance of ants as seed rescuers of a primarily bird-dispersed tree in the Neotropical cerrado savanna

2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In continuous undisturbed forests, Chusquea grows in naturally created gaps in the forest interior, but this bamboo also occupies forest sites severely degraded by anthropogenic processes, such as logging and Wre (Gonzalez et al 2002). Similarly, as shown by other studies (e.g., Blendinger et al 2008), fruit removal in unperturbed habitats could be constrained by natural heterogeneity of micro-habitat conditions. According to their interaction with crop size, patches of Chusquea bamboo might reduce the ability of frugivores to discover fruiting trees, possibly by decreasing the conspicuousness of lingue fruits.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Frugivory on Persea lingue in temperate Chilean forests: interactions between fruit availability and habitat fragmentation across multiple spatial scales

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Habitat degradation and fragmentation are expected to reduce seed dispersal rates by reducing fruit availability as well as the movement and abundance of frugivores. These deleterious impacts may also interact with each other at different spatial scales, leading to nonlinear effects of fruit abundance on seed dispersal. In this study we assessed whether the degradation and fragmentation of southern Chilean forests had the potential to restrict seed dispersal the lingue (Persea lingue) tree, a fleshy-fruited tree species. Of five frugivore bird species, the austral thrush (Turdus falcklandii) and the fire-eyed diucon (Xolmis pyrope) were the only legitimate seed dispersers as well as being the most abundant species visiting lingue trees. The results showed little or no direct effect of habitat fragmentation on seed dispersal estimates, possibly because the assemblage of frugivore birds was comprised habitat-generalist species. Instead, the number of fruits removed per focal tree exhibited an enhanced response to crop size, but only in the more connected fragments. In the fruit-richer fragment networks, there was an increased fragment-size effect on the proportion of fruits removed in comparison to fruit-poor networks in which the fragment size effect was spurious. We suggest that such nonlinear effects are widespread in fragmented forest regions, resulting from the link between the spatial scales over which frugivores sample resources and the spatial heterogeneity in fruiting resources caused by habitat fragmentation and degradation.

show abstract

“…To explain similar scenarios, other ecological studies have suggested that the benefits of attracting dispersers to a patch balance or outweigh the costs of competition for dispersers (Blendinger et al 2008). In general, melastomes interact with a large number of bird species throughout their annual cycles, and seem to constitute pivotal elements that sustain the frugivore community in montane forests (Blendinger et al 2008, Kessler-Rios & Kattan 2012.…”

Section: Pollination and Seed Dispersalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematics of the Octopleura Clade of Miconia (Melastomataceae: Miconieae) in Tropical America

Gamba-Moreno

Almeda

2014

Phytotaxa

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Octopleura clade of Miconia is a natural group of Neotropical subshrubs and small trees comprising some thirty-three species. These had previously been described in Ossaea and Clidemia, two traditionally recognized genera of Miconieae, but this natural group is nested within the megadiverse genus Miconia. This study represents the first comprehensive monograph of the clade across its entire range based on a study of over 2100 collections from seven herbaria. Thirteen new combinations are made (Miconia aguilarii, M. aurantiaca, M. biolleyana, M. boekei, M. chocoensis, M. evanescens, M. incerta, M. laxivenula, M. palenquensis, M. quinquenervia, M. radicans, M. reitziana, and M. rufibarbis). Thirteen new names are provided for epithets preempted in Miconia (M. albertobrenesii, M. alboglandulosa, M. approximata, M. atropurpurea, M. bensparrei, M. bractiflora, M. erikasplundii, M. magnifolia, M. neocoronata, M. quadridomius, M. sessilis, M. spiciformis, and M. variabilis). Six new species are proposed (M. alatissima, M. anchicayensis, M. formicaria, M. latidecurrens, M. renatoi, and M. veraguensis). A taxonomic key, detailed descriptions, distribution maps, and phenological and ecological information are presented for all species, along with SEM images of seed morphology for selected species. A preliminary geospatial conservation assessment is made for each species. Diagnostic illustrations are included for all new taxa and other selected species. A molecular phylogenetic analysis based on four genic loci is presented, along with a reconstruction of ancestral character states. Molecular and morphological data are used to develop a better understanding of the constituent species of the clade and their evolutionary relationships. Three subclades, Approximata, Quinquenervia, and Variabilis, are evident within the Octopleura clade, and supported by morphological synapomorphies.

show abstract

Crop size, plant aggregation, and microhabitat type affect fruit removal by birds from individual melastome plants in the Upper Amazon

Cited by 61 publications

References 52 publications

The relevance of ants as seed rescuers of a primarily bird-dispersed tree in the Neotropical cerrado savanna

The relevance of ants as seed rescuers of a primarily bird-dispersed tree in the Neotropical cerrado savanna

Frugivory on Persea lingue in temperate Chilean forests: interactions between fruit availability and habitat fragmentation across multiple spatial scales

Systematics of the Octopleura Clade of Miconia (Melastomataceae: Miconieae) in Tropical America

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About