Do frugivorous birds concentrate their foraging activities on those alien plants with the most abundant and nutritious fruits in the South African Mediterranean-climate region?

Plant Ecology

Volumn 214, Issue 1, 2013, Pages 49-59

  Mokotjomela, Thabiso Michael ^a,b   Musil, Charles F ^a   Esler, Karen J ^b  

^a Climate Change and Bio Adaptation Division   (South Africa)

^b STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY   (South Africa)

Author keywords

Bird numbers; Crop size; Foraging period; Seed consumption; Visitation frequency

Indexed keywords

BODY SIZE; DICOTYLEDON; FLOWER VISITING; FOOD; FRUGIVORY; FRUIT; INTRODUCED SPECIES; MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENT; NATIVE SPECIES; NUTRIENT USE; SEED DISPERSAL; SHRUB; SONGBIRD;

SOUTH AFRICA;

AVES; CHRYSANTHEMOIDES MONILIFERA; COLIUS STRIATUS; COLUMBA; COLUMBA ARQUATRIX; LANTANA CAMARA; OLEA EUROPAEA; OLEA EUROPAEA SUBSP. CUSPIDATA; PYCNONOTUS CAPENSIS; SOLANUM; SOLANUM MAURITIANUM; ZOSTEROPS PALLIDUS;

EID: 84872271773     PISSN: 13850237     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s11258-012-0145-y     Document Type: Article

References (77)

1. Bennett ATD, Cuthill IC (1994) Ultraviolet vision in birds: What is its function? Vis Res 34: 1471-1478.
2. Bibby CJ, Burgess ND, Hill DA, Mustoe S (2000) Bird census techniques. Academic Press, London.
3. Blendinger P, Loiselle B, Blake J (2008) Crop size, plant aggregation, and microhabitat type affect fruit removal by birds from individual melastome plants in the Upper Amazon. Oecologia 158: 273-283.
4. Bradford DF, Smith CC (1977) Seed predation and seed number in Scheelea palm fruits. Ecology 58: 667-673.
5. Brown M, Downs C, Johnson S (2012) African red-winged starlings prefer hexose sugar solutions, but do not like them too sweet. J Ornithol 153: 265-272.
6. Buckley YM, Anderson S, Catterall CP, Corlett RT, Engel T, Gosper CR, Nathan R, Richardson DM, Setter M, Spiegel O, Vivian-Smith G, Voigt FA, Weir JES, Westcott DA (2006) Management of plant invasions mediated by frugivore interactions. J Appl Ecol 43: 848-857.
7. Burkhardt D (1982) Birds, berries and UV. Naturwissenschaften 69: 153-157.
8. Buysse JAN, Merckx R (1993) An improved colorimetric method to quantify sugar content of plant tissue. J Exp Bot 44: 1627-1629.
9. Cowling RM, Richardson DM (1995) Fynbos: South Africa's unique floral kingdom. Fernwood Press, Cape Town.
10. Deckers B, Verheyen K, Vanhellemont M, Maddens E, Muys B, Hermy M (2008) Impact of avian frugivores on dispersal and recruitment of the invasive Prunus serotina; in an agricultural landscape. Biol Invasions 10: 717-727.
11. Denslow SJ (1987) Fruit removal rates from aggregated and isolated bushes of the red elderberry, Sambucus pubens. Can J Bot 65: 1229-1235.
12. Downs CT, Brown M (2002) Nocturnal heterothermy and torpor in the Malachite Sunbird (Nectarinia famosa). Auk 119: 251-260.
13. Drummond BA (2005) The selection of native and invasive plants by frugivorous birds in Maine. Northeast Nat 12: 33-44.
14. Foster MS (1990) Factors influencing bird foraging preferences among conspecific fruit trees. Condor 92: 844-854.
15. Fuentes M (1994) Diets of fruit-eating birds: what are the causes of interspecific differences? Oecologia 97: 134-142.
16. Germishuizen G, Meyer NL, Steenkamp Y, Kieth M (eds) (2006) A checklist of south African plants. South African Botanical Diversity Network report No. 41 SABONET, Pretoria.
17. Gervais AJ, Noon BR, Willson MF (1999) Avian selection of the color-dimorphic fruits of salmonberry. Rubus spectabilis: a field experiment. Oikos 84: 77-86.
18. Gosper CR (2004) Fruit characteristics of invasive bitou bush, Chrysanthemoides monilifera (Asteraceae), and a comparison with co-occurring native plant species. Aust J Bot 52: 223-230.
19. Gosper CR, Vivian-Smith G (2010) Fruit traits of vertebrate-dispersed alien plants: smaller seeds and more pulp sugar than indigenous species. Biol Invasions 12: 2153-2163.
20. Gosper CR, Stansbury CD, Vivian-Smith G (2005) Seed dispersal of fleshy-fruited invasive plants by birds: contributing factors and management options. Divers Distrib 11: 549-558.
21. Greenberg C, Smith L, Levey D (2001) Fruit fate, seed germination and growth of an invasive vine-an experimental test of 'sit and wait' strategy. Biol Invasions 3: 363-372.
22. Henderson L (2011) Mapping of invasive alien plants: the contribution of the southern African Plant Invaders Atlas (SAPIA) to biological weed control. Afr Entomology 19: 498-503.
23. Herrera CM (1995) Plant-vertebrate seed dispersal systems in the Mediterranean: ecological, evolutionary, and historical determinants. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 26: 705-727.
24. Herrera CM (2002) Seed dispersal by vertebrates. In: Herrera CM, Pellmyr O (eds) Plant-animal interactions: an evolutionary approach. Blackwell Science pp, New York, pp 20-185.
25. Herrera CM, Jordano P, Lopez-Soria L, Amat JA (1994) Recruitment of a mast-fruiting, bird-dispersed tree: bridging frugivore activity and seedling establishment. Ecol Monogr 64: 315-344.
26. Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ, Ryan, Ryan PG (eds) (2005) Roberts' birds of Southern Africa, 7th edn. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.
27. Howe HF (1993) Specialized and generalized dispersal systems: where does 'The Paradigm' Stand? Vegetatio 107(108): 3-13.
28. Johnson RA, Willson MF, Thompson JN, Bertin RI (1985) Nutritional values of wild fruits and consumption by migrant frugivorous birds. Ecology 66: 819-827.
29. Jordaan LA, Johnson SD, Downs CT (2011) Digestion of fruit of invasive alien plants by three southern African avian frugivores. Ibis 153: 863-867.
30. Jordano P (2000) Fruits and frugivory. In: Fenner M (ed) Seeds: the ecology of regeneration in natural plant communities. CABI Publishers, Wallingford, pp 125-166.
31. Jordano P, Schupp EW (2000) Seed disperser effectiveness: the quantity component and patterns of seed rain for Prunusmahaleb. Ecol Monogr 70: 591-615.
32. Kelly D, Sork VL (2002) Mast seeding in perennial plants: why, how, where? Annu Rev Ecol Syst 33: 427-447.
33. Knight RS (1986) A comparative analysis of fleshy fruit displays in alien and native plants. In: Macdonald IAW, Kruger FJ, Ferrar AA (eds) The ecology and management of biological invasions in Southern Africa. Oxford University Press, Cape Town, pp 171-178.
34. Knight RS (1988) Aspects of plant dispersal in the south-western Cape with particular reference to the roles of birds as dispersal agents. University of Cape Town, South Africa, PhD dissertation.
35. Knight RS, Siegfried WR (1983) Inter-relationships between type, size and colour of fruits and dispersal in southern African trees. Oecologia 56: 405-412.
36. Kueffer C, Kronauer L, Edwards PJ (2009) Wider spectrum of fruit traits in invasive than native floras may increase the vulnerability of oceanic islands to plant invasions. Oikos 118: 1327-1334.
37. LaFleur NE, Rubega MA, Elphick CS (2007) Invasive fruits, novel foods, and choice: an investigation of European starling and American robin frugivory. Wilson J Ornithol 119: 429-438.
38. Lambert F (1989) Fig-eating by birds in a Malaysian lowland rain forest. J Trop Ecol 5: 401-412.
39. Laska MS, Stiles EW (1994) Effects of fruit crop size on intensity of fruit removal in Viburnum prunifolium (Caprifoliaceae). Oikos 69: 199-202.
40. Lavergne C, Rameau J-C, Figier J (1999) The invasive woody weed Ligustrum robustum subsp. walkeri threatens native forests on La Reunion. Biol Invasions 1: 377-392.
41. Le Maitre DC, Midgley JJ (1992) Plant reproductive ecology. In: Cowling R (ed) The ecology of fynbos. Oxford University Press, Cape Town, pp135-174.
42. Levey DJ, Martínez del Rio C (2001) It takes guts (and more) to eat fruit: lessons from avian nutritional ecology. The Auk 118: 819-831.
43. Malcarney HL, Martínez del Rio C, Apanius V (1994) Sucrose intolerance in birds: simpel nonlethal diagnostic methods and consequences for assimilation of complex carbohydrates. The Auk 111: 170-177.
44. Martínez del Rio C, Restrepo C (1993) Ecological and behavioral consequences of digestion in frugivorous animals. Plant Ecology 107/-108: 205-216.
45. McNamara JM, Houston AI, Lima SL (1994) Foraging routines of small birds in winter: a theoretical investigation. J Avian Biol 25: 287-302.
46. McPherson JM (1988) Preferences of cedar waxwings in the laboratory for fruit species, colour and size: a comparison with field observations. Anim Behav 36(961-472): 969.
47. Mokotjomela TM (2012) A comparison of bird foraging preferences for fruits of indigenous and alien shrubs and seed dispersal potentials in the Cape Floristic Region. PhD thesis Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
48. Montaldo NH (2000) Reproductive success of bird-dispersed plants in a subtropical forest relict in Argentina. Revista Chilena de Historia Natur 73: 511-524.
49. Mucina L, Rutherford MC (eds) (2006) The vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
50. Ortiz-Pulido R, Albores-Barajas YV, Diaz SA (2007) Fruit removal efficiency and success: influence of crop size in a neotropical treelet. Plant Ecol 189: 147-154.
51. Pysek P, Richardson DM (2007) Traits associated with invasiveness in alien plants: where do we stand? In: Nentwig W (ed) Biological invasions, vol 193., Ecological studies. Springer, Berlin, pp 97-125.
52. Richardson DM, van Wilgen BW (2004) Invasive alien plants in South Africa: how well do we understand the ecological impacts? S Afr J Sci 100: 42-52.
53. Richardson DM, Macdonald IAW, Holmes PM, Cowling RM (1992) Plant and animal invasions. In: Cowling RM (ed) The ecology of fynbos: nutrients, fire and diversity Oxford University Press, Cape Town, pp 271-308.
54. Robertson AW, Trass A, Ladley JJ, Kelly D (2006) Assessing the benefits of frugivory for seed germination: the importance of the de-inhibition effect. Funct Ecol 20: 58-66.
55. Rowan MK (1983) The doves, parrots, louries, and cuckoos of southern Africa. John Voelcker bird book fund, Claremont.
56. Sakai AK, Allendorf FW, Holt JS, Lodge DM, Molofsky J, With KA, Baughman S, Cabin RJ, Cohen JE, Ellstrand NC, McCauley DE, O'Neil P, Parker IM, Thompson JN, Weller SG (2001) The population biology of invasive species. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 32: 305-332.
57. Sallabanks R (1993) Hierarchical mechanisms of fruit selection by an avian frugivore. Ecology 74: 1326-1336.
58. Sallabanks R, Courtney SP (1993) On fruit-frugivore relationships: variety is the spice of life. Oikos 68: 567-570.
59. Saracco JF, Jaime AC, Martha JG, Tomás AC (2005) Crop size and fruit neighborhood effects on bird visitation to fruiting Scheffleramorototoni trees in Puerto Rico. Biotropica 37: 81-87.
60. Sargent S (1990) Neighborhood effects on fruit removal by birds: a field experiment with Viburnum Dentatum (Caprifoliaceae). Ecology 71: 1289-1298.
61. Schaefer HM, Schmidt V, Bairlein F (2003) Discrimination abilities for nutrients: which difference matters for choosy birds and why? Anim Behav 65: 531-541.
62. Schupp EW (1993) Quantity, quality and the effectiveness of seed dispersal by animals. Vegetatio 107(108): 15-29.
63. Schupp EW, Jordano P, Gómez JM (2010) Seed dispersal effectiveness revisited: a conceptual review. New Phytol 188: 333-353.
64. Schurr FM, Spiegel O, Steinitz O, Trakhtenbrot A, Tsoar A, Nathan N (2009) Long-distance seed dispersal. Annual Plant Reviews 38: 204-237.
65. Scott JK (1996) Population ecology of Chrysanthemiodes monilifera in South Africa: implications for its control in Australia. J Appl Ecol 33: 1496-1508.
66. Siitari H, Honkavaara J, Viitala J (1999) Ultraviolet reflection of berries attracts foraging birds. A laboratory study with redwings (Turdus iliacus) and bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus). Proc Royal Soc London 26: 2125-2129.
67. Spiegel O, Nathan R (2007) Incorporating dispersal distance into the disperser effectiveness framework: frugivorous birds provide complementary dispersal to plants in a patchy environment. Ecol Lett 10: 718-728.
68. Steadman DW (1997) The historic biogeography and community ecology of Polynesian pigeons and doves. J Biogeogr 24: 737-753.
69. Tsoar A, Shohami D, Nathan R (2011) A movement ecology approach to study seed dispersal and plant invasion: an overview and application of seed dispersal by fruit bats. Fifty years of invasion ecology. In: Richardson DM (ed) The legacy of Charles Elton. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, pp 103-119.
70. Underhill LG, Hofmeyr JH (2007) Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica disperse seeds of rooikrans Acacia cyclops, an invasive alien plant in the Fynbos Biome. Ibis 149: 468-471.
71. Valido A, Schaefer HM, Jordano P (2011) Colour, design and reward: phenotypic integration of fleshy fruit displays. J Evol Biol 24: 751-760.
72. van Wyk B, van Wyk P (1997) Field guide to trees of southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.
73. Vazquez DP, Morris WF, Jordano P (2005) Interaction frequency as a surrogate for the total effect of animal mutualists on plants. Ecol Lett 8: 1088-1094.
74. Wheelwright NT (1985) Fruit-size, gape width, and the diets of fruit-eating birds. Ecology 66: 808-818.
75. Willson MF, Whelan CJ (1989) Ultraviolet reflectance of fruits of vertebrate-dispersed plants. Oikos 55: 341-348.
76. Witmer MC (1998) Ecological and evolutionary implications of energy and protein requirements of avian frugivores eating sugary diets. Physiol Zool 71: 599-610.
77. Witmer MC, Soest PJV (1998) Contrasting digestive strategies of fruit-eating birds. Funct Ecol 12: 728-741.