Myiarchusflycatchers are the primary seed dispersers ofBursera longipesin a Mexican dry forest

We evaluated the seed dispersal ofBursera longipesby birds along a successional gradient of tropical dry forest (TDF) in southwestern Mexico.B. longipesis an endemic tree to the TDF in the Balsas basin. The relative abundance of frugivorous birds, their frequency of visits toB. longipesand the number of removed fruits were recorded at three study sites with different stages of forest succession (early, intermediate and mature) characterized by distinct floristic and structural elements. Flycatchers of theMyiarchusandTyrannusgenera removed the majority of fruits at each site. Overall, visits toB. longipeswere less frequent at the early successional site. Birds that function as legitimate dispersers by consuming whole seeds and regurgitating or defecating intact seeds in the process also remove the pseudoaril from seeds, thereby facilitating the germination process. The highest germination percentages were recorded for seeds that passed through the digestive system of two migratory flycatchers:M. cinerascensandM. nutingii. Perch plants, mainly composed of legumes (e.g.,Eysenhardtia polystachya, Acacia cochliacantha, Calliandra eryophylla, Mimosa polyantha), serve also as nurse plants since the number of young individuals recruited fromB. longipeswas higher under these than expected by chance. This study shows thatMyiarchusflycatchers are the most efficient seed dispersers ofB. longipesacross all successional stages. This suggests a close mutualistic relationship derived from adaptive processes and local specializations throughout the distribution of both taxa, as supported by the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution.

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Myiarchus flycatchers are the primary seed dispersers of Bursera longipes in a Mexican dry forest: An overlooked coevolutionary process?

10.7287/peerj.preprints.1507 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

R. Carlos Almazán-Núñez ◽

Luis E. Eguiarte ◽

María del Coro Arizmendi ◽

Pablo Corcuera

Keyword(s):

Forest Succession ◽

Tropical Dry Forest ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Geographic Mosaic ◽

Frugivorous Birds ◽

Nurse Plants ◽

Adaptive Processes ◽

Mutualistic Relationship ◽

Seed Dispersers ◽

Study Sites

We evaluated the seed dispersal of Bursera longipes by birds along a successional gradient of tropical dry forest (TDF) in southwestern Mexico. B. longipes is an endemic tree to the TDF in the Balsas basin. The relative abundance of frugivorous birds, their frequency of visits to B. longipes and the number of removed fruits were recorded at three study sites with different stages of forest succession (early, intermediate and mature) characterized by distinct floristic and structural elements. Flycatchers of the Myiarchus and Tyrannus genera removed the majority of fruits at each site. Overall, visits to B. longipes were less frequent at the early successional site. Birds that function as legitimate dispersers by consuming whole seeds and regurgitating or defecating intact seeds in the process also remove the pseudoaril from seeds, thereby facilitating the germination process. The highest germination percentages were recorded for seeds that passed through the digestive tract of two migratory flycatchers: M. cinerascens and M. nutingii. Perch plants, mainly composed of legumes (e.g., Eysenhardtia polystachya, Acacia cochliacantha, Calliandra eryophylla, Mimosa polyantha), serve also as nurse plants since the number of young individuals recruited from B. longipes was higher under these than expected by chance. This study shows that Myiarchus flycatchers are the most efficient seed dispersers of B. longipes across all successional stages. This suggests a close mutualistic relationship derived from adaptive processes and local specializations throughout the distribution of both taxa, as supported by the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution.

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Myiarchus flycatchers are the primary seed dispersers of Bursera longipes in a Mexican dry forest: An overlooked coevolutionary process?

10.7287/peerj.preprints.1507v1 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

R. Carlos Almazán-Núñez ◽

Luis E. Eguiarte ◽

María del Coro Arizmendi ◽

Pablo Corcuera

Keyword(s):

Forest Succession ◽

Tropical Dry Forest ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Geographic Mosaic ◽

Frugivorous Birds ◽

Nurse Plants ◽

Adaptive Processes ◽

Mutualistic Relationship ◽

Seed Dispersers ◽

Study Sites

We evaluated the seed dispersal of Bursera longipes by birds along a successional gradient of tropical dry forest (TDF) in southwestern Mexico. B. longipes is an endemic tree to the TDF in the Balsas basin. The relative abundance of frugivorous birds, their frequency of visits to B. longipes and the number of removed fruits were recorded at three study sites with different stages of forest succession (early, intermediate and mature) characterized by distinct floristic and structural elements. Flycatchers of the Myiarchus and Tyrannus genera removed the majority of fruits at each site. Overall, visits to B. longipes were less frequent at the early successional site. Birds that function as legitimate dispersers by consuming whole seeds and regurgitating or defecating intact seeds in the process also remove the pseudoaril from seeds, thereby facilitating the germination process. The highest germination percentages were recorded for seeds that passed through the digestive tract of two migratory flycatchers: M. cinerascens and M. nutingii. Perch plants, mainly composed of legumes (e.g., Eysenhardtia polystachya, Acacia cochliacantha, Calliandra eryophylla, Mimosa polyantha), serve also as nurse plants since the number of young individuals recruited from B. longipes was higher under these than expected by chance. This study shows that Myiarchus flycatchers are the most efficient seed dispersers of B. longipes across all successional stages. This suggests a close mutualistic relationship derived from adaptive processes and local specializations throughout the distribution of both taxa, as supported by the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution.

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Fruiting phenology and consumption by birds in Ficus calyptroceras (Miq.) Miq. (Moraceae)

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/s1519-69842002000200018 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 62 (2) ◽

pp. 339-346 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

J. RAGUSA-NETTO

Keyword(s):

Food Resource ◽

Bird Species ◽

Dry Season ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Wet Season ◽

Frugivorous Birds ◽

Fruiting Phenology ◽

Dry Seasons ◽

Seed Dispersers ◽

Wet And Dry Seasons

Figs are a remarkable food resource to frugivores, mainly in periods of general fruit scarcity. Ficus calyptroceras Miq. (Moraceae) is the only fig species in a type of dry forest in western Brazil. In this study I examined the fruiting pattern as well as fig consumption by birds in F. calyptroceras. Although rainfall was highly seasonal, fruiting was aseasonal, since the monthly proportion of fruiting trees ranged from 4% to 14% (N = 50 trees). I recorded 22 bird species feeding on figs. In the wet season 20 bird species ate figs, while in the dry season 13 did. Parrots were the most important consumers. This group removed 72% and 40% of the figs consumed in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. No bird species increases fig consumption from dry to wet season. However, a group of bird species assumed as seed dispersers largely increases fig consumption from wet to dry season, suggesting the importance of this resource in the period of fruit scarcity. The results of this study points out the remarkable role that F. calyptroceras plays to frugivorous birds, in such a dry forest, since its fruits were widely consumed and were available all year round.

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Testing Chronosequences through Dynamic Approaches: Time and Site Effects on Tropical Dry Forest Succession

Biotropica ◽

10.1111/btp.12187 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 47 (1) ◽

pp. 38-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Francisco Mora ◽

Miguel Martínez-Ramos ◽

Guillermo Ibarra-Manríquez ◽

Alfredo Pérez-Jiménez ◽

Jenny Trilleras ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Site Effects ◽

Forest Succession ◽

Tropical Dry Forest ◽

Dry Forest

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Mapping tropical dry forest succession using multiple criteria spectral mixture analysis

ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing ◽

10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2015.08.009 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 109 ◽

pp. 17-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Sen Cao ◽

Qiuyan Yu ◽

Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa ◽

Jilu Feng ◽

Benoit Rivard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Forest Succession ◽

Tropical Dry Forest ◽

Multiple Criteria ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Spectral Mixture Analysis ◽

Mixture Analysis ◽

Spectral Mixture

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Temporal variation in the influence of forest succession on caterpillar communities: A long‐term study in a tropical dry forest

Biotropica ◽

10.1111/btp.12666 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 51 (4) ◽

pp. 529-537 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Karina Boege ◽

Edith Villa‐Galaviz ◽

Antonio López‐Carretero ◽

Rubén Pérez‐Ishiwara ◽

Alejandro Zaldivar‐Riverón ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Temporal Variation ◽

Forest Succession ◽

Tropical Dry Forest ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Term Study ◽

Long Term Study

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Tropical dry forest succession and the contribution of lianas to wood area index (WAI)

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2008.10.007 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 258 (6) ◽

pp. 941-948 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

G. Arturo Sánchez-Azofeifa ◽

Margaret Kalácska ◽

Mario Marcos do Espírito-Santo ◽

G. Wilson Fernandes ◽

Stefan Schnitzer

Keyword(s):

Forest Succession ◽

Tropical Dry Forest ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Area Index

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Distribution of the community of frugivorous birds along a successional gradient in a tropical dry forest in south-western Mexico

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467414000601 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 57-68 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

R. Carlos Almazán-Núñez ◽

María del Coro Arizmendi ◽

Luis E. Eguiarte ◽

Pablo Corcuera

Keyword(s):

Tropical Dry Forest ◽

Dry Season ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Forest Fragments ◽

Dry Forests ◽

Bird Abundance ◽

Frugivorous Birds ◽

Seed Predators ◽

Western Mexico ◽

Successional Forests

Abstract:Few reports have described the relationship between the distribution of frugivorous birds and vegetation successional changes in dry forests. We assessed the abundance and behaviour of frugivorous birds in early, intermediate and mature dry forests in the Balsas river basin, Guerrero, Mexico. We selected nine dry-forest fragments, three fragments per stage, in these three stages of succession. We analysed the vegetation, estimated bird abundances in 10-min count periods, and recorded the way birds process fruits in circular plots (11–15 plots per fragment, 123 plots in total). Birds were classified as seed predators (15% of all individuals in this study), pulp consumers (15%) or legitimate dispersers (70%). Bird abundance was higher in mature forests in the dry season, while abundance and richness of legitimate dispersers and seed predators were positively related to vegetation complexity. Mature forests have a high vegetation complexity and a high cover ofBurseraspecies that produce fruit during the dry season. During the rains, abundance was higher in early-successional sites when the zoochorous plants produced fruit. Legitimate disperser migrants (i.e.Tyrannus vociferans, Myiarchus cinerascensandM. tyrannulus) were widespread, helping the establishment of zoochorous trees such asBurseraspp. in early-successional forests.

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