Frugivory in Canopy Plants in a Western Amazonian Forest: Dispersal Systems, Phylogenetic Ensembles and Keystone Plants.

ABSTRACT: Frugivory is a widespread mutualistic interaction in which frugivores obtain nutritional resources while favoring plant recruitment through their seed dispersal services. Nonetheless, how these complex interactions are organized in diverse communities, such as tropical forests, is not fully understood. In this study we evaluated the existence of plant-frugivore sub-assemblages and their phylogenetic organization in an undisturbed western Amazonian forest in Colombia. We also explored for potential keystone plants, based on network analyses and an estimate of the amount of fruit going from plants to frugivores. We carried out diurnal observations on 73 canopy plant species during a period of two years. During focal tree sampling, we recorded frugivore identity, the duration of each individu

SUBMITTER: Stevenson PR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4619584 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature