Bird fruit consumption results from the interaction between fruit-handling behaviour and fruit crop size
- Palacio, Facundo Xavier
- Valoy, M.
- Bernacki, F.
- Sanchez, Mariano Sebastian
- Nuñez Montellano, Maria Gabriela
- Varela, O.
- Ordano, Mariano Andrés
DOIAbstract
Bird foraging behaviour is a major factor involved in mutualistic interactions of fleshy-fruited plants. Despite much research, we still lack quantified demonstrations of how fruit display traits affect fruit removal behaviour. Although the fruit crop size hypothesis proposes a general mechanism for fruit trait selection, it overlooks the fact that distinctive bird behaviours in a bird assemblage would have different effects on fruit crop size. Here, we show that the relevance of fruit crop size for bird fruit consumption is driven by two basic components of fruit foraging behaviour: fruit handling and residence time. We assessed bird fruit-eating behaviour (fruit consumption, fruit handling and residence time) and its relationship with fru...
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