scholarly journals How does avian seed dispersal shape the structure of early successional tropical forests?

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aarón González‐Castro ◽  
Suann Yang ◽  
Tomás A. Carlo
2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-18
Author(s):  
Luciane Lopes de Souza

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. eaav6699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carine Emer ◽  
Mauro Galetti ◽  
Marco A. Pizo ◽  
Pedro Jordano ◽  
Miguel Verdú

Species on Earth are interconnected with each other through ecological interactions. Defaunation can erode those connections, yet we lack evolutionary predictions about the consequences of losing interactions in human-modified ecosystems. We quantified the fate of the evolutionary history of avian–seed dispersal interactions across tropical forest fragments by combining the evolutionary distinctness of the pairwise-partner species, a proxy to their unique functional features. Both large-seeded plant and large-bodied bird species showed the highest evolutionary distinctness. We estimate a loss of 3.5 to 4.7 × 104 million years of cumulative evolutionary history of interactions due to defaunation. Bird-driven local extinctions mainly erode the most evolutionarily distinct interactions. However, the persistence of less evolutionarily distinct bird species in defaunated areas exerts a phylogenetic rescue effect through seed dispersal of evolutionarily distinct plant species.


1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 535 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Green

The behaviour of avian visitors to 23 species of subtropical Australian rain forest plants was observed in the Lamington and Border Ranges National Parks on the Queensland/New South Wales border to determine potentially important seed dispersers, seed predators and fruit thieves.


Nature Plants ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Suetsugu ◽  
Atsushi Kawakita ◽  
Makoto Kato

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