Testing the quick meal hypothesis: The effect of pulp on hoarding and seed predation of <i>Hymenaea courbaril</i> by red‐rumped agoutis (<i>Dasyprocta leporina</i>)

Guimarães, Paulo R.; Kubota, Umberto; Gomes, Bruno Z.; Fonseca, Rafael Luís; Bottcher, Cláudia; Galetti, Mauro

doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01554.x

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Fruit and seed size are key traits in animal-dispersed plants because they limit the number of frugivore species that can handle and disperse seeds (Wheelwright 1985;Peres and Van Roosmalen 2002). In the Neotropics, largeseeded fruits are dispersed by a few large and mediumbodied mammals, such as large Ateline monkeys (Peres and Van Roosmalen 2002), tapirs (Fragoso and Huffman 2000;Galetti et al 2001) and scatter hoarding rodents (Hallwacks 1986;Guimara˜es et al 2006). Seed dispersal by scatter hoarding is ubiquitous in forest-dwelling rodents, such as squirrels (Sciurus), spiny rats (Trinomys, Proechymis, Heteromys), acouchies (Myoprocta), and agoutis (Dasyprocta) (VanderWall 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed dispersal and predation in the endemic Atlantic rainforest palm Astrocaryum aculeatissimum across a gradient of seed disperser abundance

Donatti

Guimarães

Galetti

2009

Ecological Research

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Tropical forests have been subject to intense hunting of medium and large frugivores that are important in dispersing large-seeded species. It has been hypothesized that in areas with extinction or low abundance of medium and large-bodied animals the density of small rodents may increase. Therefore, this increment in the density of small rodents may compensate for the absence or low abundance of medium and large frugivores on seed removal and seed dispersal. Here, we fill up this gap in the literature by determining if seed removal, seed dispersal, and seed predation by small rodents (spiny rats, Trinomys inheringi and squirrels, Sciurus ingrami) are maintained in defaunated areas. We accessed seed removal, seed dispersal, seed predation, and seedling recruitment of an endemic Atlantic rainforest palm, Astrocaryum aculeatissimum, in a gradient of abundance of agoutis. We found that seed removal, scatter hoarding, and seed predation increase with the abundance of agoutis. In contrast, the proportion of dispersed but non-cached seeds decreased with the abundance of agoutis. We did not find any effect of the abundance of agoutis on seed dispersal distance, but we did find a positive trend on the density of seedlings. We concluded that small rodents do not compensate the low abundance of agoutis on seed removal, scatter hoarding, and seed predation of this palm tree. Moreover, areas in which agoutis are already extinct did not present any seed removal or scatter hoarding, not even by small rodents. This study emphasizes both the importance of agoutis in dispersing seeds of A. aculeatissimum and the collapse in seed dispersal of this palm in areas where agoutis are already extinct.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed dispersal and predation in the endemic Atlantic rainforest palm Astrocaryum aculeatissimum across a gradient of seed disperser abundance

Donatti

Guimarães

Galetti

2009

Ecological Research

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This result would be expected by the “quick meal” hypothesis [25,27], which states that the presence of fleshy pulp in rodent dispersed species is a trait that enhances caching by temporarily satiating the scatter hoarder and reducing seed predation. In our study, however, we did not find that the probability of a seed being predated decreased as fruit size increased; hence, it is unlikely that satiation explains why seeds were frequently discarded.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…For example, large fruits, which presumably have higher pulp biomass than small fruits, may satiate rodents with their pulp before they consume their seeds [15,25,26,27], and thus increase the effectiveness of rodents as seed dispersers (“quick meal” hypothesis) [25]. Therefore, when fruits are large, there is a higher probability that rodents consume only the pulp—a reward rich in fat, protein carbohydrates and water [28,29]–and discard intact seeds [25,30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fruit Size Determines the Role of Three Scatter-Hoarding Rodents as Dispersers or Seed Predators of a Fleshy-Fruited Atacama Desert Shrub

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Scatter-hoarding rodents can act as both predators and dispersers for many large-seeded plants because they cache seeds for future use, but occasionally forget them in sites with high survival and establishment probabilities. The most important fruit or seed trait influencing rodent foraging behavior is seed size; rodents prefer large seeds because they have higher nutritional content, but this preference can be counterbalanced by the higher costs of handling larger seeds. We designed a cafeteria experiment to assess whether fruit and seed size of Myrcianthes coquimbensis, an endangered desert shrub, influence the decision-making process during foraging by three species of scatter-hoarding rodents differing in body size: Abrothrix olivaceus, Phyllotis darwini and Octodon degus. We found that the size of fruits and seeds influenced foraging behavior in the three rodent species; the probability of a fruit being harvested and hoarded was higher for larger fruits than for smaller ones. Patterns of fruit size preference were not affected by rodent size; all species were able to hoard fruits within the entire range of sizes offered. Finally, fruit and seed size had no effect on the probability of seed predation, rodents typically ate only the fleshy pulp of the fruits offered and discarded whole, intact seeds. In conclusion, our results reveal that larger M. coquimbensis fruits have higher probabilities of being harvested, and ultimately of its seeds being hoarded and dispersed by scatter-hoarding rodents. As this plant has no other dispersers, rodents play an important role in its recruitment dynamics.

show abstract

“…O registro do consumo de sementes de M. urens por cutias destaca esta leguminosa como importante fonte de alimento para a fauna, uma vez que suas sementes têm grande valor nutricional (Adebooye & Phillips 2006), destacando também o papel dos dispersores estocadores ("scatterhoarding behavior") na dispersão desta espécie. O consumo de sementes de leguminosas por cutias já havia sido demonstrado por outros trabalhos (Henry 1999;Silvius & Fragoso 2003;Guimarães Jr. et al 2006;McWilliams 2009). Estudos também mostraram a alta percentagem de sementes grandes deslocadas por esses roedores, sendo que em Gustavia superba (Kunth) O. Berg (Lecythidaceae), 85,5% das sementes foram removidas após 28 dias (Forget et al 1992), e 87,6% das sementes da castanheira-do-Pará (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl., Lecythidaceae) após duas semanas, sendo a maioria delas deslocadas em apenas quatro dias (Peres & Baider 1997).…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

Consumo e dispersão secundária de sementes de Mucuna urens (Fabaceae) em Floresta Atlântica no Sul do Brasil

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

No presente estudo foram avaliados o consumo, a remoção e a dispersão secundária de sementes de Mucuna urens (Fabaceae - Faboideae) em um fragmento de Floresta Atlântica, no Parque Municipal da Lagoa do Peri, Florianópolis, SC. O padrão biométrico e o consumo por invertebrados foram avaliados em 100 sementes. A remoção e a dispersão secundária foram avaliadas em 120 e 25 sementes, respectivamente. A média do comprimento, largura e massa das sementes foi de 2,87±0,19 cm, 2,83±0,23 cm e 5,04±1,60 g, respectivamente, e 41% estavam consumidas por besouros Curculionidae, Scolytinae. Não houve relação do comprimento e da largura das sementes consumidas e não consumidas, sendo a massa das consumidas significativamente menor do que as não consumidas, devido aos escolitíneos se alimentarem do cotilédone. As cutias (Dasyprocta azarae) removeram 74,16% (n = 89) das sementes. Esse roedor dispersou 48% e enterrou 36% das sementes, a uma distância média de 8,06 m (± 7,46 m), variando de 1,00 a 35,90 m. A dispersão secundária e o estocamento das sementes de M. urens por cutias diminui a probabilidade de predação por outros vertebrados e invertebrados e aumenta as chances de ocorrer a germinação em sítios favoráveis, ajudando na propagação da espécie.

show abstract

Testing the quick meal hypothesis: The effect of pulp on hoarding and seed predation of Hymenaea courbaril by red‐rumped agoutis (Dasyprocta leporina)

Cited by 9 publications

References 28 publications

Seed dispersal and predation in the endemic Atlantic rainforest palm Astrocaryum aculeatissimum across a gradient of seed disperser abundance

Seed dispersal and predation in the endemic Atlantic rainforest palm Astrocaryum aculeatissimum across a gradient of seed disperser abundance

Fruit Size Determines the Role of Three Scatter-Hoarding Rodents as Dispersers or Seed Predators of a Fleshy-Fruited Atacama Desert Shrub

Consumo e dispersão secundária de sementes de Mucuna urens (Fabaceae) em Floresta Atlântica no Sul do Brasil

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About