Efeitos da coloração e da distribuição de frutos artificiais nas taxas de consumo por aves em um fragmento florestal

Abstract

Frugivory is one of the most important ecological interactions during forest succession. Frugivorous birds are responsible for up to 90% of seed dispersion in tropical forests. Previous studies have tested how birds choose fruits to disperse based on their color, size, and position. However, most of those studies were conducted in artificial conditions. This study investigated whether the rate of fruit consumption by birds is influenced by their colors and spatial patterns in forested environments. The experiment was performed in a 60.98-ha-fragment of Semideciduos Forest. We used artificial fruits with three different colors, disposed in a both clump and scattered fashion, at the edge and interior of the fragment. There was a higher rate of consumption of conspicuous fruits (blue and red). Scattered fruits were also more consumed than clump fruits on forest interior. The contrast of conspicuous colors against their backgrounds allows the visualization of fruits by frugivorous birds specialized on interior environments. Our results also showed that opportunists frugivorous are the main consumers of scattered fruits. This pattern supported the assumption that peaks of high fruit productivity coincide with higher consumption of this resource by these birds.