Edges, Fruits, Frugivores and Seed Dispersal in a Neotropical Montane Forest PDF Download

Author: Carla Restrepo
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forest ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Author: Alejandro Estrada
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400948123
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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A wide variety of plants, ranging in size from forest floor herbs to giant canopy trees, rely on animals to disperse their seeds. Typical values of the proportion of tropical vascular plants that produce fleshy fruits and have animal-dispersed seeds range from 50-90%, depending on habitat. In this section, the authors discuss this mutualism from the plant's perspective. Herrera begins by challenging the notion that plant traits traditionally interpreted as being the product of fruit-frugivore coevolution really are the outcome of a response-counter-response kind of evolutionary process. He uses examples of congeneric plants living in very different biotic and abiotic environments and whose fossilizable characteristics have not changed over long periods of time to argue that there exists little or no basis for assuming that gradualistic change and environmental tracking characterizes the interactions between plants and their vertebrate seed dispersers. A common theme that runs through the papers by Herrera, Denslow et at. , and Stiles and White is the importance of the 'fruiting environment' (i. e. the spatial relationships of conspecific and non-conspecific fruiting plants) on rates of fruit removal and patterns of seed rain. Herrera and Denslow et at. point out that this environment is largely outside the control of individual plant species and, as a result, closely coevolved interactions between vertebrates and plants are unlikely to evolve.

Author: T.H. Fleming
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401117497
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Any scientific discipline needs a theoretical framework to guide its development and to sharpen the questions its researchers pursue. In biology, evolution is the grand theoretical framework, and an his torical perspective is necessary to understand present-day biological conditions. In its formative years, the modern study of the fruit-frugivore mutualism was guided by the 'specialist-generalist' paradigm developed by D. Snow, D. McKey, and H. Howe. Howe reviews the current status of this evolution ary paradigm and points out that it has been dismissed by many workers before being adequately tested. This is because ecologists working with the tropical plants and frugivorous birds for which the paradigm was originally developed rarely measure the seed dispersal effectiveness of different disperser species. He indicates that this paradigm still has heuristic value and suggests that several additional ecological paradigms, including the concept ofkeystone species ofplants and frugivores and the role that frugivores play in density-dependent mortality in tropical trees, are worth studying. The concept of seed dispersal quality has been central to discussions of fruit-frugivore coevolution. Schupp thoroughly reviews data bearing on this concept, constructs a hierarchical framework for viewing disperser effectiveness, and points out that disperser effectiveness depends on both the quantity and quality of seed dispersal. Effectiveness, in turn, affects both evolutionary and ecological relationships between dispersers and their food plants.

Author: Thane Kastle Pratt
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forest ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Author: Nina Rivera Ingle
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Forest ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Author: T. H. Fleming
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
Historical and theoretical aspects of frugivory and seed dispersal. Plant strategies. Frugivore strategies. Consequences of seed dispersal.

Author: Anna Traveset
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889765067
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 610

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Coverage: 1982- current; updated: monthly. This database covers current ecology research across a wide range of disciplines, reflecting recent advances in light of growing evidence regarding global environmental change and destruction. Major ares of subject coverage include: Algae/lichens, Animals, Annelids, Aquatic ecosystems, Arachnids, Arid zones, Birds, Brackish water, Bryophytes/pteridophytes, Coastal ecosystems, Conifers, Conservation, Control, Crustaceans, Ecosyst em studies, Fungi, Grasses, Grasslands, High altitude environments, Human ecology, Insects, Legumes, Mammals, Management, Microorganisms, Molluscs, Nematodes, Paleo-ecology, Plants, Pollution studies, Reptiles, River basins, Soil, TAiga/tundra, Terrestrial ecosystems, Vertebrates, Wetlands, Woodlands.

Author: Timothy D. Schowalter
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080508812
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 575

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Dr. Timothy Schowalter has succeeded in creating a unique, updated treatment of insect ecology. This revised and expanded text looks at how insects adapt to environmental conditions while maintaining the ability to substantially alter their environment. It covers a range of topics- from individual insects that respond to local changes in the environment and affect resource distribution, to entire insect communities that have the capacity to modify ecosystem conditions.Insect Ecology, Second Edition, synthesizes the latest research in the field and has been produced in full color throughout. It is ideal for students in both entomology and ecology-focused programs.NEW TO THIS EDITION:* New topics such as elemental defense by plants, chaotic models, molecular methods to measure disperson, food web relationships, and more* Expanded sections on plant defenses, insect learning, evolutionary tradeoffs, conservation biology and more* Includes more than 350 new references* More than 40 new full-color figures

Author: Jacqueline E. S. Weir
Publisher: Open Dissertation Press
ISBN: 9781374726789
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 134

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This dissertation, "Patterns of Seed Dispersal by Flying Frugivores in Hong Kong" by Jacqueline E S, Weir, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled PATTERNS OF SEED DISPERSAL BY FLYING FRUGIVORES IN HONG KONG Submitted by Jacqueline E. S. Weir for the degree of Master of Philosophy at The University of Hong Kong in March 2004 Seed dispersal is a critical process in forest regeneration, particularly in degraded landscapes. In Hong Kong most seed dispersal is carried out by a small number of frugivore species. The main aim of this study was to quantify the pattern of seed dispersal by the most important flying frugivore, the light-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis). Seed shadows were predicted for this and three other common frugivores: the red-whiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus), hwamei (Garrulax canorus), and dog- faced fruit bat (Cynopterus sphinx). Gut passage times for seeds were measured in newly captured and long-term captive birds. Median times until first appearance of a seed were 14-20 minutes in the two bulbul species and 37 minutes for hwameis. Median times until the last appearance of seeds from multi-seeded fruits were 36-38 minutes for bulbuls, with some retained over 100 minutes, and 61 minutes for hwameis, with some retained over 150 minutes. Movement patterns were measured by attaching tail- mounted radio-transmitters to birds caught in mist-nets and using triangulation to locate them every 10 minutes. These were then used to calculate how displacement from an arbitrary starting point, representing a fruiting shrub or tree, increased over time. The displacement-time graphs and gut passage data were combined to produce estimates of seed dispersal distances. Predicted median seed dispersal distances were typically 40-50 m for adult light- vented bulbuls in winter, 100-200 m for juvenile light-vented bulbuls in summer, 100- 150 m for juvenile red-whiskered bulbuls in summer, 30 m for adult hwameis in winter and 30-40 m for juvenile hwameis in summer. Bulbuls occasionally moved over 1 km within the gut passage time for seeds. Dog-faced fruit bats had median dispersal distances of 150-200 m, based on gut passage times from the literature, and maximum movement distances up to 900 m. Range analysis for the species studied, and visual observations of movements by frugivorous birds were carried out in order to modify the symmetrical predicted seed shadows in terms of the heterogeneous real landscape. Non-breeding light-vented and red-whiskered bulbuls appeared to be nomadic and willing to cross open areas, although they appeared to prefer forest and shrubland. Hwameis were sedentary and very rarely crossed open areas. Light-vented bulbuls were most willing to use isolated perches in open areas. Movements within grassland and shrubland were increased during fruiting peaks of the shrubs Rubus reflexus and Eurya spp. Dog-faced fruit bats had varying range sizes and crossed open lowland areas, but willingness to enter upland degraded sites needs investigation. Bats dispersed cultivated and native fruit species. Seed shadows for small, defecated seeds may be diffuse, but for the larger seeds dropped under feeding roosts would be patchy. Management actions to encourage seed dispersal into degraded areas should consider landscape features used by these species and the distances they are willing to travel. The provision of suitable perches should increase seed input to open areas and the attractive nature of fruiting shrubs could be utilised in planting strategies. DOI: 10.5353/th_b300