Skip to main content
WCS
Menu
Library
Library Catalog
eJournals & eBooks
WCS Research
Archives
Research Use
Finding Aids
Digital Collections
WCS History
WCS Research
Research Publications
Science Data
Services for WCS Researchers
Archives Shop
Bronx Zoo
Department of Tropical Research
Browse By Product
About Us
FAQs
Intern or Volunteer
Staff
Donate
Search WCS.org
Search
search
Popular Search Terms
WCS History
Library and Archives
Library and Archives Menu
Library
Archives
WCS Research
Archives Shop
About Us
Donate
en
fr
Title
Forest cover and fruit crop size differentially influence frugivory of select rainforest tree species in Western Ghats, India
Author(s)
Gopal, Abhishek;Mudappa, Divya;Raman, T. R. Shankar;Naniwadekar, Rohit
Published
2020
Publisher
Biotropica
Published Version DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12810
Abstract
Forest fragmentation and habitat loss are major disruptors of plant–frugivore interactions, affecting seed dispersal and altering recruitment patterns of the dependent tree species. In a heterogeneous production landscape (primarily tea and coffee plantations) in the southern Western Ghats, India, we examined effects of surrounding forest cover and fruit crop size on frugivory of four rainforest bird‐dispersed tree species (N = 131 trees, ≥30 trees per species, observed for 623 hr). Frugivore composition differed among the four tree species with the large‐seeded Canarium strictum and Myristica dactyloides being exclusively dependent on large‐bodied avian frugivores, whereas medium‐seeded Persea macrantha and Heynea trijuga were predominantly visited by small‐bodied and large‐bodied avian frugivores, respectively. Using the seed‐dispersal‐effectiveness framework, we identified effective frugivores and examined their responses to forest cover and fruit crop size. Results were idiosyncratic and were governed by plant and frugivore traits. Visitations to medium‐seeded Persea had a positive relationship with forest cover but the relationship was negative for the large‐seeded Myristica . In addition, two of the three effective frugivores for Persea responded to the interactive effect of forest cover and fruit crop size. Frugivore visitations to Heynea were not related to forest cover or fruit crop, and there were too few visitations to Canarium to discern any trends. These results highlight the context‐specific responses of plant–frugivore interactions to forest cover and fruit crop size influenced by plant and frugivore traits.
Keywords
forest cover;fragmentation;frugivory;fruit crop;seed size;Western Ghats
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the
WCS Library
to request.
Back
PUB25170