īaldwin JW, Whitehead SR (2015) Fruit secondary compounds mediate the retention time of seeds in the guts of Neotropical fruit bats. īaldwin JW, Dechmann DKN, Thies W, Whitehead SR (2020) Defensive fruit metabolites obstruct seed dispersal by altering bat behavior and physiology at multiple temporal scales. Īziz SA, McConkey KR, Tanalgo K, Sritongchuay T, Low M-R, Yong JY, Mildenstein TL, Nuevo-Diego CE, Lim VC, Racey PA (2021) The critical importance of Old World fruit bats for healthy ecosystems and economies. Our study shows that the chemical components involved in an asynchronous fruit-ripening process could select for extended fruit availability by intensifying the demand for each ripe fruit among legitimate seed dispersers, which increases the likelihood of fruits being dispersed away from parent crowns.Īltmann J (1974) Observation study of behaviour: sampling methods. The bats exhibited different foraging patterns and home ranges resulting in dispersal (as measured by feeding roost location) occurring across different spatial scales. Both bats preferably consumed ripe fruits, which had a higher concentration of attractants (essential minerals) and a lower concentration of deterrents (secondary metabolites), supplemented with a higher seed-to-pulp ratio. Fruit bats (Pteropodidae: Pteropus giganteus and Cynopterus sphinx) were the only nocturnal frugivore visitors of these trees and their fruit selection was driven by fruit size and colour. In contrast, the concentration of secondary metabolite compositions decreased gradually during the process of ontogeny.
FRUIT BATS MOUTHFULS ZIP FULL
A fruit’s mineral concentration also increased as fruit developed, with a sharp jump at full ripeness, when fruit colour also changed. As predicted, the seed-to-pulp ratio of each fruit increased along with fruit development. Our study shows that the asynchronous fruiting strategy limited the number of ripe fruits daily so that fruits were available at a steady rate. The chemical components of the fruit were also predicted to change along their ontogenesis in favour of fruit selection and seed dispersal by fruit bats. We predicted that the seed-to-pulp ratio would increase along with fruit ripeness. This study aimed to investigate whether the chemical components (minerals and secondary metabolites) of a bat fruit with ripening asynchrony change along its ontogeny (Rubiaceae: Neolamarckia cadamba). However, mechanisms associated with this strategy that can facilitate seed dispersal are understudied. An asynchronous fruit-ripening strategy can enhance the chance of seed dispersal by providing ripe fruits for an extended period to foragers.
0 kommentar(er)
