Differences among avian frugivores in seed dispersal to degraded habitats

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 760-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan M. Rehm ◽  
Janelle Chojnacki ◽  
Haldre S. Rogers ◽  
Julie A. Savidge
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Avian Frugivores

Seed Dispersal by Avian Frugivores: Non-random Heterogeneity at Fine Scales

Biotropica ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashwin Viswanathan ◽  
Rohit Naniwadekar ◽  
Aparajita Datta
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Random Heterogeneity ◽  
Avian Frugivores

Regeneration patterns among bird-dispersed plants in a fragmented Afrotropical forest, south-east Kenya

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
MWANGI GITHIRU ◽  
LEON BENNUN ◽  
LUC LENS
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Random Pattern ◽  
Tropical Plants ◽  
Tree Distribution ◽  
Adult Tree ◽  
Tree Seeds ◽  
Avian Frugivores

Fruit-eating birds play an important role in the seed dispersal of many tropical plants (e.g. Herrera 1984), and the foraging behaviour of avian frugivores may affect their seed-dispersal capabilities (Loiselle & Blake 1999,Schupp 1993, Traveset 1994). For instance,shorter visits tend to produce less clumped seed distributions (Graham et al. 1995). Also,avian frugivores often feed on the fruits of several plant species over short periods of time (Herrera 1984, 1988a; Levey et al. 1994) in some non-random pattern (Herrera 1998). This potentially produces a predictable spatial pattern of the dispersed seeds (White & Stiles 1990). Forest destruction leads to fragmentation and degradation of the remaining habitats, which may influence patterns of adult tree distribution if the production, predation, dispersal, and/or regeneration of tree seeds is affected (Harrington et al. 1997). If dispersal of avian frugivores is disrupted by habitat fragmentation, plant species might face reduced regeneration, or even local extinction if they depend on a single, locally extinct disperser (Kellman et al. 1996). Increased predation of seeds and regenerating plants in the edges and gaps may also directly reduce regeneration rates (Corlett & Turner 1997, Harrington et al. 1997, Schupp 1988).

scholarly journals Differential seed germination of a keystone palm (Euterpe edulis) dispersed by avian frugivores

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 615-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraão de Barros Leite ◽  
Pedro H. S. Brancalion ◽  
Roger Guevara ◽  
Mauro Galetti
Keyword(s):  
Seed Germination ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Seed Treatment ◽  
Digestive System ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Visitation Rate ◽  
Euterpe Edulis ◽  
Qualitative Component ◽  
Avian Frugivores

The effectiveness of seed dispersal by vertebrates has been analysed by examining both quantitative and qualitative components (Jordano & Schupp 2000, Schupp et al. 2010). While the quantitative component is relatively easily assessed in the field (e.g. visitation rate, number of fruits eaten per visit), the qualitative component (e.g. fate of dispersed seeds, seed treatment in the digestive system of the disperser) is rarely studied under natural conditions, because it is difficult to measure the effects on seeds once ingested by the dispersers (Cortes et al. 2009).

scholarly journals Impacts of climate change on interacting plant and bird species : a trait-based perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Larissa Nowak
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Niche Breadth ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Interacting Species ◽  
Avian Frugivores ◽  
Dispersal Events

Global biodiversity is changing rapidly and contemporary climate change is an important driver of this change. As climate change continues, the challenge is to understand how it may affect the future of biodiversity. This is relevant to informing policy and conservation, but it requires reliable future projections of biodiversity. Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth which includes the diversity of species. The species on Earth are linked in diverse networks of biotic interactions. Interacting species can respond differently to climate change. This can cause spatial or temporal mismatches between interacting species and result in secondary extinctions of species that lose obligate interaction partners. Yet, accounting for biotic interactions in biodiversity projections remains challenging. One way to address this challenge is the use of trait-based approaches because the impact of climate change on interacting species is influenced by species’ functional traits, i.e., measurable characteristics of the species that influence their abiotic and biotic interactions. First, species’ functional traits influence how species respond to climate change. Second, they influence whether the species find compatible interaction partners in reshuffled species assemblages under climate change. Thus, the overarching aim of this dissertation was to explore how trait-based approaches can increase our understanding of how climate change might affect interacting species. For this, I focussed on interactions between fleshy-fruited plants and avian frugivores along a tropical elevational gradient. I investigated three principal research questions. First, I investigated how traits related to the sensitivity of avian frugivores to climate change and their adaptive capacity vary along elevation and covary across species. I combined estimates of species’ climatic niche breadth (approximating species’ sensitivity) with traits influencing species’ dispersal ability, dietary niche breadth and habitat niche breadth (aspects of species’ adaptive capacity). Species’ climatic niche breadth increased with increasing elevation, while their dispersal ability and dietary niche breadth decreased with increasing elevation. Across species, there was no significant relationship of the sensitivity of the avian frugivores to climate change and their adaptive capacity. The opposing patterns of species’ sensitivity to climate change and their adaptive capacity along elevation imply that species from assemblages at different elevations may respond differently to climate change. The independence between species’ sensitivity and adaptive capacity suggests that it is important to account for both sensitivity and adaptive capacity to fully understand how climate change might affect biodiversity. Second, I assessed how climate change might influence the co-occurrence of interaction partners with compatible traits, i.e., the functional correspondence of interacting species. I integrated future projections of species’ elevational ranges considering different vertical dispersal scenarios with analyses of the functional diversity of interacting species assemblages. The functional correspondence of fleshy-fruited plants and avian frugivores was lowest if plant and bird species were projected to contract their ranges towards higher elevations in response to increasing temperatures. Contrastingly, if species were projected to expand their ranges upslope, the functional correspondence remained close. The low functional correspondence under a scenario of range contraction indicates that plant species with specific traits might miss compatible interaction partners in future assemblages. This could negatively affect their seed dispersal ability. These results suggest that ensuring the integrity of biotic interactions under climate change requires that species can shift their ranges upslope unlimitedly. Third, I examined whether avian seed dispersal is sufficient for plants to track future temperature change along the elevational gradient. With a trait-based modelling approach, I simulated seed-dispersal distances avian frugivores can provide to fleshy-fruited woody plant species and quantified the number of long-distance dispersal events the plant species would require to fully track projected temperature shifts along elevation. Most plant species were projected to require several long-distance dispersal events to fully track the projected temperature shifts in time. However, the number of required long-distance dispersal events varied with the degree of trait matching and plant species’ traits. These findings suggest that avian seed dispersal is insufficient for plants to track future temperature change along the elevational gradient as woody plant species might not be able to undergo several consecutive long-distance dispersal events within a short time window, due to their long maturation times. These results also imply that the ability of bird-dispersed plant species to track climate change is associated with the specialization of the seed dispersal system and with plant species’ traits. Trait-based approaches are promising tools to study impacts of climate change on interacting species. The trait-based approaches that I have developed in this thesis are applicable more widely, e.g., to other types of biotic interactions, or to assess the effects of other drivers of global change. Moreover, these approaches may be further developed to model changes in biotic interactions under global change more dynamically. Taken together, I have shown how a trait-based perspective could help to account for biotic interactions in biodiversity projections. The development of such approaches and the gained knowledge are urgently needed to facilitate the conservation of biodiversity in a rapidly changing world.

Endozoochory by granivorous rodents in seed dispersal of green fruits

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-49
Author(s):  
Yueqin Yang ◽  
Yihao Zhang ◽  
Yinhua Deng ◽  
Xianfeng Yi
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Clethrionomys Rufocanus ◽  
Fruit Removal ◽  
Mutualistic Relationship ◽  
Siberian Chipmunk ◽  
Avian Frugivores ◽  
Tamias Sibiricus ◽  
Scientific Attention ◽  
Myodes Rufocanus

Although the role of frugivores in seed dispersal has attracted scientific attention, it remains unclear whether granivorous rodents can act as frugivores to interact mutualistically with fruit-producing plants, especially those bearing green fruits inconspicuous to avian frugivores. In this study, we tracked fruit removal of the tara vine (Actinidia arguta (Siebold & Zucc.) Planch. Ex Miq.) and variegated kiwi vine (Actinidia kolomikta (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim.) in a temperate forest and presented fruits to the granivorous rodents Siberian chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus (Laxmann, 1769)), Korean field mouse (Apodemus peninsulae (Thomas, 1907)), and gray red-backed vole (Clethrionomys rufocanus (Sundevall, 1846) = Myodes rufocanus (Sundevall, 1846)) in the laboratory to answer this question. Seeds were collected from rodent feces to see the effects of gut passage on seed germination to determine the role of granivorous rodents in endozoochory of A. arguta and A. kolomikta. We presented clear evidence of endozoochory by granivorous rodents in seed dispersal of the two Actinidia species. Rodents appeared to play an alternative role in dispersing plants bearing green fruits. Moreover, we observed increased germination rates after gut ingestion by the granivorous rodents. Our study evidenced endozoochory of granivorous rodents and provided new insight into the mutualist interactions between rodents and plant species bearing fleshy fruits containing tiny seeds. We suggest future studies pay more attention to endozoochory of rodents and establish their mutualistic relationship with fruit-bearing plants in temperate forests.

scholarly journals The role of avian frugivores on germination and potential seed dispersal of the Brazilian Pepper Schinus terebinthifolius

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graziele D'Avila ◽  
Antonio Gomes-Jr ◽  
Ana Carolina Canary ◽  
Leandro Bugoni
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Seed Viability ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Frugivorous Birds ◽  
Schinus Terebinthifolius ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Avian Frugivores ◽  
Brazilian Pepper ◽  
Germination Experiments

Frugivorous birds play a key role in seed dispersal and establishment of a range of plant species, including invasive weeds, such as the Brazilian Pepper Schinus terebinthifolius. The potential of seed dispersal of Schinus by birds with varied feeding behaviours was studied through seed-viability tests and germination experiments using seeds obtained from birds in the field and birds kept in captivity. It was found that seeds collected after gut passage in five bird species in the field had higher proportion of germination as well as higher germination rates compared to the control seeds. Viability of seeds ingested by the Blue-and-yellow Tanager Thraupis bonariensis, which mandibulates seeds before ingesting, was significantly lower than control seeds, while reduction in viability of seeds ingested by the Creamy-bellied Thrush Turdus amaurochalinus was nonsignificant. Seeds ingested by birds in captivity germinated earlier than the control seeds, within 1-2 weeks, and had proportion and germination rates higher than controls. Probably both mechanical and chemical effects play a role in enhancing germination of seeds. In Brazil where both Schinus and avian frugivores had evolved together, the dependence of Schinus on generalist frugivores had been demonstrated in this study, similar to other countries where the invasive Schinus is dependent on native or introduced avian species for its spreading. This finding has important implications for the restoration of human-altered areas in South America, were Schinus is a native pioneer species, as well as for the management and restoration of areas invaded by Schinus elsewhere.

Complementary seed dispersal by three avian frugivores in a fragmented Afromontane forest

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1110-1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Lehouck ◽  
T. Spanhove ◽  
S. Demeter ◽  
N. E. Groot ◽  
L. Lens
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Afromontane Forest ◽  
Avian Frugivores

Foraging Ecology of Avian Frugivores and Some Consequences for Seed Dispersal in an Illinois Woodlot

The Condor ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patti Katusic Malmborg ◽  
Mary F. Willson
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Foraging Ecology ◽  
Avian Frugivores

FRUGIVORIA E DISPERSÃO DE SEMENTES POR PEIXES

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-18
Author(s):  
Luciane Lopes de Souza
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Main Species ◽  
Fishing Gears ◽  
Solimões River

Biotic or abiotic processes of seed dispersal are important for the maintenance of the diversity, and for the natural regeneration in tropical forests. Ichthyochory is one of the fundamental mechanisms for seed dispersal in flooded environments, as the “igapó” forests. A study on the ichthyochory of the igapós was conducted at Amanã Sustainable Development Reserve, in the middle Solimões river, from June 2002 to September 2004. Monthly samples of frugivorous fish were taken, with the main fishing gears used locally. Guts of 1,688 fish caught were examined. The main species were Myloplus rubripinnis (29.21%), Hemiodus immaculatus (18.96%),Colossoma macropom um (16.23%) and Mylossoma duriventre (16.05%). The diet was made of vegetables (fruits, leave and flowers), and animals (arthropods). 53.02% of all fish caught ingested fruits. The total number of intact seeds in the stomachs and intestines were 8,069 and 5,763 respectively. About 61.9% of the Brycon melanopterus (matrinchão), 46.34% of the Brycon amazonicus (mamuri) and 30.22% of M . rubripinnis (parum ) analysed had intact seeds in their guts. Seeds of Nectandra amazonum and Genipa spruceana ingested proved to be more viable than those non-ingested by fish. The high rates of frugivory, the presence of intact seeds in the guts of fish and the greater viability of ingested seeds all suggest that these animals are important seed dispersors in the “igapó” forests of Amanã Reserve.

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