Two thrush species as dispersers of Miconia prasina (Sw.) DC. (Melastomataceae): an experimental approach

Brazilian Journal of Biology

Mas. Alves²  Pd. Ritter¹  Rd. Antonini¹  Em. Almeida² 

[1] ,Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Instituto de Biologia Roberto Alcantara Gomes Departamento de EcologiaRio de Janeiro RJ ,Brazil

关键词: Atlantic forest;    frugivory;    seed germination;    Melastomataceae;    Turdus;    Mata Atlântica;    frugivoria;    germinação de sementes;    Melastomataceae;    Turdus;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S1519-69842008000200023

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

We carried out a seed germination experiment using two thrush species in captivity. We compared the number of germinated seeds and germination time of control seeds (manually removed from fruits) and ingested seeds of Miconia prasina by two bird species, Turdus albicollis and T. amaurochalinus, and also compared retention times of seeds by both thrush species. Control seeds germinated more frequently than those ingested for one species, T. albicollis. The germination time of ingested seeds by T. amaurochalinus was similar to the control seeds but seeds ingested by T. albicollis took longer to germinate than the controls. Both thrush species had a similar seed defecation pattern. The cumulative number of defecated seeds increased by 2 hours after fruit ingestion. At the end of the first 30 minutes both species had already defecated approximately 50% of the seeds ingested Our results suggest that both species could act as disperser agents of M. prasina.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
 All the contents of this journal, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License