Summary
The fruits ofPistacia terebinthus, a circum-Mediterranean tree/shrub, are consumed by an array of bird species that differ in feeding methods and in relative frequencies of visits to plants. In this study I document interindividual variation in the proportion of fruits consumed by three types of frugivores: legitimate dispersers, pulp-consumers and seed predators. The results show that the relative frequencies of each kind of frugivore notably influence the final reproductive output (absolute number of viable seeds dispersed) and in fact prevail over the effects of pre-dispersal factors acting on plant fitness. Those relative frequencies are not associated with any of the plant traits related to fitness, such as fruit crop size and the number of viable seeds produced, suggesting that the type of avian frugivory exerts a negligible, if not null, selective pressure on such plant attributes. Plant specialization to attract the most effective seed dispersers seems to be precluded, given the small scale at which the high variation in seed dispersal success takes place.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Barton, A.M. (1986) Spatial variation in the effects of ants on an extrafloral nectary plant.Ecology 67, 495–504.
Bronstein, J.L. and Hoffmann, K. (1987) Spatial and temporal variation in frugivory at a neotropical fig,Ficus pertusa.Oikos 49, 261–8.
Burger, A.E. (1987) Fruiting and frugivory ofCornus canadensis in boreal forest in Newfoundland.Oikos 49, 3–10.
Davidar, P. and Morton, E.S. (1986) The relationship between fruit crop sizes and fruit removal rates by birds.Ecology 67, 262–5.
Denslow, J.S. (1987) Fruit removal from aggregated and isolated bushes of the red elderberry,Sambucus pubens.Can. J. Bot. 65, 1229–35.
Eckhart, V.M. (1992) Spatio-temporal variation in abundance and variation in foraging behavior of the pollinators of gynodioeciousPhacelia linearis (Hydrophyllaceae).Oikos 64, 573–86.
Foster, M. (1990) Factors influencing bird foraging preferences among conspecific fruit trees.Condor 92, 844–54.
French, K.O., Dowd, D.J. and Lill, A. (1992) Fruit removal ofCoprosma quadrifida (Rubiaceae) by birds in south-eastern Australia.Aust. J. Ecol. 17, 35–42.
Fuentes, M. (1990) Relaciones entre pájaros y frutos en un matorral del norte de España: variación estacional y diferencias con otras áreas geográficas.Ardeola 37, 53–66.
Grundwag, M. (1976) Embryology and fruit development in four species ofPistacia L. (Anacardiaceae).Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 73, 355–70.
Guitián, J., Fuentes, M., Bermejo, T. and López, B. (1992) Spatial variation in the interactions betweenPrunus mahaleb and frugivorous birds.Oikos 63, 125–30.
Herrera, C.M. (1981) Fruit variation and competition for dispersers in natural populations ofSmilax aspera.Oikos 36, 51–8.
Herrera, C.M. (1988a) The fruiting ecology ofOsyris quadripartita: individual variation and evolutionary potential.Ecology 69, 233–49.
Herrera, C.M. (1988b) Avian frugivory and seed dispersal in Mediterranean habitats: regional variation in plant—animal interaction.Acta XIX Cong. Int. Ornit. Univ. Ottawa 1, 509–17.
Herrera, C.M. (1988c) Variation in mutualisms: the spatio-temporal mosaic of a pollinator assemblage.Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 35, 95–125.
Herrera, C.M. (1988d) Variaciones anuales en las poblaciones de pájaros frugívoros y su relación con la abundancia de frutos.Ardeola,35, 135–42.
Herrera, C.M. and Jordano, P. (1981)Prunus mahaleb and birds: the high-efficiency seed dispersal system of a temperate fruiting tree.Ecol. Monogr. 51, 203–18.
Hoppes, W.G. (1987) Pre- and post-foraging movements of frugivorous birds in an eastern deciduous forest woodland, USA.Oikos 49, 281–90.
Horvitz, C.C. and Schemske, D.W. (1990) Spatiotemporal variation in insect mutualists of a neotropical herb.Ecology 71, 1085–97.
Howe, H.F. (1984) Constraints on the evolution of mutualisms.Am. Nat. 123, 764–77.
Howe, H.F. (1989) Scatter- and clump-dispersal and seedling demography: hypothesis and implications.Oecologia 79, 417–26.
Howe, H.F. and De Steven, D. (1979) Fruit production, migrant bird visitation, and seed dispersal ofGuarea glabra in Panama.Oecologia 39, 185–96.
Howe, H.F. and Vande Kerckhove, G.A. (1979) Fecundity and seed dispersal of a tropical tree.Ecology 60, 180–9.
Howe, H.F., Schupp, E.W., and Westley, L.C. (1985) Early consequences of seed dispersal for a neotropical tree (Virola surinamensis).Ecology 66, 781–91.
Jordano, P. (1989) Pre-dispersal biology ofPistacia lentiscus (Anacardiaceae): cumulative effects on seed removal by birds.Oikos 55, 375–86.
Jordano, P. (1992) Fruits and frugivory. InSeeds: the ecology and regeneration in plant communities, (M. Fenner, ed.) pp. 105–56. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
Jordano, P. (1993) The geographical ecology of plant/seed dispersers interactions: southern Spanish junipers and frugivorous thrushes.Vegetatio 107/108, 85–104.
Levey, D.J. (1987) Seed size and fruit-handling techniques of avian frugivores.Am. Nat. 129, 471–85.
Levey, D.J. (1988) Spatial and temporal variation in Costa Rican fruit and fruit-eating bird abundance.Ecol. Monogr. 58, 251–69.
Mckey, D. (1975) The ecology of coevolved seed dispersal systems.Coevolution of animals and plants (L.E. Gilbert and P.H. Raven eds) pp. 159–91. University of Texas Press, Austin.
Malmborg, P.K. and Willson, M.F. (1988) Foraging ecology of avian frugivores and some consequences for seed dispersal in an Illinois woodlot.Condor 90, 173–86.
Manasse, R.S. and Howe, H.F. (1983) Competition for dispersal agents among tropical trees: influences of neighbors.Oecologia 59, 185–90.
Moore, L.A., and Willson, M.F. (1982) The effect of microhabitat, spatial distribution and display size on dispersal ofLindera benzoin by avian frugivores.Can. J. Bot. 60, 557–60.
Murray, K.G. (1987) Selection for optimal fruit-crop size in bird-dispersed plants.Am. Nat. 129, 18–31.
Murray, K.G. (1988) Avian seed dispersal of three neotropical gap-dependent plants.Ecol. Monogr. 58, 271–98.
Reid, N. (1989) Dispersal of mistletoes by honeyeaters and flowerpeckers: components of seed dispersal quality.Ecology 70, 137–45.
Sargent, S. (1990) Neighborhood effects on fruit removal by birds: a field experiment withViburnum dentatum (Caprifoliaceae).Ecology 71, 1289–98.
Schupp, E.W. (1988) Seed and early seedling predation in the forest understory and in treefall gaps.Oikos 51, 71–8.
Schupp, E.W. (1993) Quantity, quality and the effectiveness of seed dispersal by animals.Vegetatio 107/108, 15–29.
Schupp, E.W., Howe, H.F., Augspurger, C.K., and Levey, D.J. (1989) Arrival and survival in tropical treefall gaps.Ecology 70, 562–5.
Snow, D.W. (1971) Evolutionary aspects of fruit-eating by birds.Ibis 113, 194–202.
Snow, B. and Snow, D. (1988)Birds and Berries. T & AD Poyser, Waterhouses, UK.
Thompson, J.N. and Willson, M.F. (1979) Evolution of temperate fruit/bird interactions: phenological strategies.Evolution 33, 973–82.
Traveset, A. (1991) Post-dispersal predation ofAcacia farnesiana seeds byStator vachelliae (Bruchidae) in Central America.Oecologia 84, 506–12.
Traveset, A. (1993) Weak interactions between avian and insect frugivores: the case ofPistacia terebinthus L. (Anacardiaceae).Vegetatio 107/108, 191–203.
Willson, M.F. and Whelan, C.J. (1993) Variation of dispersal phenology in a bird-dispersed shrub,Cornus drummondii.Ecol. Monogr. 63, 151–72.
Zohary, M. (1952) A monographical study of the genusPistacia.Palestine J. Bot., Jerusalem Ser. 5, 187–238.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Traveset, A. Influence of type of avian frugivory on the fitness ofPistacia terebinthus L.. Evol Ecol 8, 618–627 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01237845
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01237845