Author(s): Pizo, Marco A. [UNESP] ; Morales, Juan M. ; Ovaskainen, Otso ; Carlo, Tomas A.
Date: 2021
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/11449/209087
Origin: Oasisbr
Subject(s): animal-plant interactions; mutualistic networks; digestive physiology; seed dispersal; avian ecology; Neotropical plant ecology
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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)
National Science Foundation
Proyectos de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica
Academy of Finland
Research Council of Norway (Centre of Excellence grant)
The interaction between fruit chemistry and the physiological traits of frugivores is expected to shape the structure of mutualistic seed dispersal networks, but it has been understudied compared with the role of morphological trait matching in structuring interaction patterns. For instance, highly frugivorous birds (i.e., birds that have fruits as the main component of their diets), which characteristically have fast gut passage times, are expected to avoid feeding on lipid-rich fruits because of the long gut retention times associated with lipid digestion. Here, we compiled data from 84 studies conducted in the Neotropics that used focal plant methods to record 35,815 feeding visits made by 317 bird species (155 genera in 28 families) to 165 plant species (82 genera in 48 families). We investigated the relationship between the degree of frugivory of birds (i.e., how much of their diet is composed of fruit) at the genus level and their visits to plant genera that vary in fruit lipid content. We used a hierarchical modeling of species communities approach that accounted for the effects of differences in body size, bird and plant phylogeny, and spatial location of study sites. We found that birds with a low degree of frugivory (e.g., predominantly insectivores) tend to have the highest increase in visitation rates as fruits become more lipid rich, while birds that are more frugivorous tend to increase visits at a lower rate or even decrease visitation rates as lipids increase in fruits. This balance between degree of frugivory and visitation rates to lipid-poor and lipid-rich fruits provides a mechanism to explain specialized dispersal systems and the occurrence of certain physiological nutritional filters, ultimately helping us to understand community-wide interaction patterns between birds and plants.
Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Biodiversidade, Inst Biociencias, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, Inst Invest Biodiversidad & Medioambiente, RA-8400 San Carlos De Bariloche, Rio Negro, Argentina
Univ Nacl Comahue, RA-8400 San Carlos De Bariloche, Rio Negro, Argentina
Univ Helsinki, Organismal & Evolutionary Biol Res Programme, POB 65, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
Norwegian Univ Sci & Technol, Dept Biol, Ctr Biodivers Dynam, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway
Penn State Univ, Dept Biol, University Pk, PA 16802 USA
Penn State Univ, Ecol Program, University Pk, PA 16802 USA
Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Biodiversidade, Inst Biociencias, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
CNPq: 304244/2016-3
National Science Foundation: DEB-1556719
Proyectos de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica: 2015 0815
Academy of Finland: 1273253
Academy of Finland: 250444
Research Council of Norway (Centre of Excellence grant): 223257
