The Significance of Pollen in the Diet of the New Holland Honeyeater, Phylidonyris Novaehollandiae (Aves : Meliphagidae).

Paton, DC

doi:10.1071/zo9810217

Cited by 26 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…Other vertebrates with simple guts digest pollen, including marsupial mammals (Turner 1984a, b, Richardson et al 1986, Smith and Green 1987, megachiropteran and microchiropteran fruit bats (Howell 1974, McWilliam 1986, Law 1992a, and birds (Paton 1981, Wooller et al 1988, Brice et al 1989, Grant 1996. Other vertebrates with simple guts digest pollen, including marsupial mammals (Turner 1984a, b, Richardson et al 1986, Smith and Green 1987, megachiropteran and microchiropteran fruit bats (Howell 1974, McWilliam 1986, Law 1992a, and birds (Paton 1981, Wooller et al 1988, Brice et al 1989, Grant 1996.…”

Section: Digestion Of Pollenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional Interactions and Fruit Removal: Cedar Waxwing Consumption of Viburnum opulus Fruits in Spring

Witmer¹

2001

Ecology

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Fruits of Viburnum opulus (highbush cranberry, guelder rose) ripen in the fall and remain uneaten throughout the winter months. To investigate the fruiting strategy of this plant, I described the natural history of fruit removal from V. opulus shrubs in central New York and investigated nutritional mechanisms for the phenology of fruit removal by its principal disperser. Viburnum opulus fruit crops were often completely consumed in April and May, almost exclusively by Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum). Sugar solute concentration of V. opulus fruit pulp increased over the winter season through dehydration. When wild Cedar Waxwings were presented with early-season (removed and frozen in December) and remnant late-season (April) fruits, they strongly preferred earlyseason fruits. This result demonstrated that springtime consumption of V. opulus fruits by Cedar Waxwings is not caused by chemical changes in the fruit pulp during the winter months that enhance fruit palatability.Cedar Waxwings often fed intermittently on the male catkins of eastern cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) when eating V. opulus fruits. Feeding experiments with captive waxwings showed that birds lost body mass on either V. opulus fruits or P. deltoides catkins alone, but maintained or gained body mass when offered both foods simultaneously. The combined diet provided Cedar Waxwings with nutritionally sufficient amounts of energy from fruit sugars and protein from pollen. Two chemical characteristics of V. opulus fruits were implicated in creating a short-term demand for supplemental protein: an especially low nitrogen/carbohydrate ratio and secondary compounds. The pulp of V. opulus fruits contains secondary compounds that make this fruit very acidic, presenting consumers with the challenge of maintaining acid/base homeostasis. Elevated nitrogen losses by waxwings eating only V. opulus fruits were consistent with the hypothesis that birds catabolized protein to produce bicarbonate as an acid buffer. Secondary compounds may play a central role in the evolution of plant fruiting syndromes because of their dual effects on microbes, mediating persistence of fruits in the environment, and palatability of fruits to seed dispersers, presumably because they exact a protein cost from consumers.These results showed that nutritional interactions of seasonally ephemeral food items can determine temporal patterns of fruit consumption. The well-defended fruits of V. opulus are eaten when more palatable fruits no longer remain and when a complementary protein source becomes available. This fruiting strategy can result in wholesale seed dispersal. The restricted nature of the mutualism between waxwings and V. opulus appears to be a result of the extraordinary persistence of these fruits and the unique dietary habits of waxwings. Viburnum opulus fruits remain uneaten until the spring months, when waxwings are scavenging remnant crops of sugary fruits and most other avian frugivores have switched to animal foods.

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Section: Digestion Of Pollenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutritional Interactions and Fruit Removal: Cedar Waxwing Consumption of Viburnum opulus Fruits in Spring

Witmer¹

2001

Ecology

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“…1986), bats (Howell 1974, Law 1992, marsupials (Turner 1984, Richardson et a!. 1986, and several species of birds (Churchill and Christensen 1970, Paton 1981, Grant 1986, Wooller eta!. 1988, Brice eta!.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast to this high digestive efficiency in marsupials, birds show low levels of pollen digestion. For example, Paton (1981) found that the percentage of empty pollen grains in the feces Ecology,Vol. 77,No.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollen Digestion by Darwin's Finches and Its Importance for Early Breeding

Grant

1996

Ecology

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This paper examines the role of pollen digestion in the early breeding of Darwin's finches. Pollen is a rich source of protein, but the extent to which birds digest pollen has been debated. On Isla Daphne Major, Galapagos, Geospiza scandens, the Cactus Finch, and G. fortis, the Medium Ground Finch, consume pollen and nectar of the prickly pear cactus, Opuntia echios. I found that >90% of ingested pollen was digested during passage through the gut of adult and nestling G. scandens and adult G. fortis. This value is twice as high as the maximum reported for birds, and comparable to the most efficient digestion known for specialist marsupials. Nectar is ingested with pollen by the finches and may stimulate germination of pollen in the crop, facilitating digestion. Opuntia pollen grains germinated in vitro in a nectar and water solution. Breeding of finches typically follows shortly after the arrival of the first heavy rains of the year. In 6 of 12 years, however, some G. scandens pairs bred and successfully fledged young before onset of the rains. At these times, Opuntia flowers were abundant, arthropods were scarce, and the diet of G. scandens was predominantly Opuntia pollen and nectar. As a result of breeding early, pre—rains breeders produced more clutches and fledged more young per year than post—rains breeders. Although G. fortis take pollen and nectar from Opuntia flowers and efficiently digest pollen grains, they feed on flowers to a much lesser extent than G. scandens, and did not breed before the rains. These results have implications for similar vertebrate pollinator and plant systems in arid tropical regions.

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“…The faeces of four species of South African rodents contained Protea pollen grains, 50±83% of which were empty or partially digested (van Tets, 1997). Birds such as honeyeaters, hummingbirds, parrots, and ®nches can extract the protoplasts from pollen grains readily, usually less ef®ciently (< 50% success) than the mammals studied Brice, Dahl & Grau, 1989) but occasionally with over 90% success (Paton, 1981;Grant, 1996). Birds such as honeyeaters, hummingbirds, parrots, and ®nches can extract the protoplasts from pollen grains readily, usually less ef®ciently (< 50% success) than the mammals studied Brice, Dahl & Grau, 1989) but occasionally with over 90% success (Paton, 1981;Grant, 1996).…”

Section: Pollen Digestionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some bats use pollen extensively in their diet (Howell, 1974) and, 53±57% of grains ingested by the blossom bat Syconycteris australis were digested (Law, 1992a). Birds such as honeyeaters, hummingbirds, parrots, and ®nches can extract the protoplasts from pollen grains readily, usually less ef®ciently (< 50% success) than the mammals studied Brice, Dahl & Grau, 1989) but occasionally with over 90% success (Paton, 1981;Grant, 1996). Thus, although honey possums are obligate pollen-feeders, they are neither markedly more ef®cient nor faster at extracting the contents from pollen than other mammals.…”

Section: Pollen Digestionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary constraints upon reproduction in an obligate pollen‐ and nectar‐feeding marsupial, the honey possum (Tarsipes rostratus)

1999

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The tiny honey possum, Tarsipes rostratus, is the only marsupial that feeds solely upon nectar and pollen. Its daily energy expenditure is reduced by occasional short-term deep torpor but its overall nitrogen needs appear to be what would be predicted for its size (7±12 g). Tarsipes derives its nutrients from digesting the contents of pollen grains. Simultaneously, it must eliminate the large volumes of water that accompany the energy-rich sugars in nectar. We suggest that these two time-consuming processes, together with the need to harvest small amounts of nectar and pollen from a large number of¯owers, limit the rate at which Tarsipes can raise young. Tarsipes has a small litter (2±4 young) compared with marsupials of similar size and its young grow only slowly, both traits that may stem from dietary constraints. However, it breeds ®rst only 4 months after leaving the pouch and continuously thereafter, which may offset an annual adult mortality rate of 86%. Unusually in a small marsupial, the young are carried in a pouch until almost weaned, rather than deposited in a nest. This too may be a correlate of the way it harvests nutritionally rewarding plant products. Nectar and pollen are available all year from the¯owers of a suite of banksias and dryandras that are Tarsipes' favoured foodplants. Only the species-rich Mediterranean-climate heathlands of south-western Australia appear able to support a small marsupial with such extremely specialized dietary habits, whose life-history traits re¯ect the constraints of this unusual diet.

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The Significance of Pollen in the Diet of the New Holland Honeyeater, Phylidonyris Novaehollandiae (Aves : Meliphagidae).

Cited by 26 publications

References 0 publications

Nutritional Interactions and Fruit Removal: Cedar Waxwing Consumption of Viburnum opulus Fruits in Spring

Nutritional Interactions and Fruit Removal: Cedar Waxwing Consumption of Viburnum opulus Fruits in Spring

Pollen Digestion by Darwin's Finches and Its Importance for Early Breeding

Dietary constraints upon reproduction in an obligate pollen‐ and nectar‐feeding marsupial, the honey possum (Tarsipes rostratus)

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