Atlantic frugivory: a plant–frugivore interaction data set for the Atlantic Forest

Abstract

Abstract. The data set provided here includes 8,320 frugivory interactions (records of pairwise interactions between plant and frugivore species) reported for the Atlantic Forest. The data set includes interactions between 331 vertebrate species (232 birds, 90 mammals, 5 fishes, 1 amphibian, and 3 reptiles) and 788 plant species. We also present information on traits directly related to the frugivory process (endozoochory), such as the size of fruits and seeds and the body mass and gape size of frugivores. Data were extracted from 166 published and unpublished sources spanning from 1961 to 2016. While this is probably the most comprehensive data set available for a tropical ecosystem, it is arguably taxonomically and geographically biased. The plant families better represented are Melastomataceae, Myrtaceae, Moraceae, Urticaceae, and Solanaceae. Myrsine coriacea, Alchornea glandulosa, Cecropia pachystachya, and Trema micrantha are the plant species with the most animal dispersers (83, 76, 76, and 74 species, respectively). Among the animal taxa, the highest number of interactions is reported for birds (3,883) followed by mammals (1,315). The woolly spider monkey or muriqui, Brachyteles arachnoides, and Rufous-bellied Thrush, Turdus rufiventris, are the frugivores with the most diverse fruit diets (137 and 121 plants species, respectively). The most important general patterns that we note are that larger seeded plant species (>12 mm) are mainly eaten by terrestrial mammals (rodents, ungulates, primates, and carnivores) and that birds are the main consumers of fruits with a high concentration of lipids. Our data set is geographically biased, with most interactions recorded for the southeast Atlantic Forest.

Assessment of the nursery species pool for restoring landscapes in southeastern Brazil

“…A positive aspect we highlight is that among the functional groups available in plant stocks, we observed fast‐growing shade tree species that boost soil coverage and shade exotic weeds (Rodrigues et al ), as well as a great variety of canopy nonpioneer species, which will presumably persist in restored sites over time (Rodrigues et al ; Brancalion et al ). However, the overall variety and quantities of animal‐dispersed species are below those expected for tropical forests, which varies from 70 to 94% of woody species (Almeida‐Neto et al ; Bello et al ). We recommend enhancement of the proportion of animal‐dispersed species in plant nurseries, since they facilitate early regeneration in restoration projects (Viani et al ; Howe ).…”

“…For a functional grouping approach, we classified native species into the following functional guilds: (1) pioneer, (2) fast‐growing shade (Rodrigues et al ), (3) understory nonpioneer, and (4) canopy nonpioneer. Additionally, species were classified by dispersal syndromes and subsyndromes (Bello et al ).…”

Seed‐dispersal networks are more specialized in the Neotropics than in the Afrotropics

“…Overall, we compiled taxonomic information for 51 mammal species and 614 bird species and combined that with data on body mass and the degree of frugivory (Wilman et al, ). We complemented trait data, when necessary, with information from other literature sources (e.g., Bello et al, ; Dunning, ).…”

Global geographic patterns in the colours and sizes of animal‐dispersed fruits

“…We compiled data on fruit colour, fruit length and plant habit from published studies, regional floras and local field guides, as well as from the ATLANTIC-FRUGIVORY database (Bello et al, 2017). We also incorporated eight additional sites from published studies that listed the number of species of each colour without identifying those species.…”