Fruit availability at the individual and local levels influences fruit removal in Cecropia pachystachya

Navarro, A. BBovo, A. A. AAlexandrino, E. ROliveira, V. CPizo, M. AFerraz, K. M. P. M. B

Bird frugivory is modulated by environmental variables, wherein some variables are related to plant species and some are related to the surrounding habitat ( Saracco et al., 2005 ; Pizo and Almeida Neto, 2009 ; Gagetti et al., 2016 ). Although several studies have investigated the influence of such variables on fruit removal by birds, no study focused on Cecropia, an emblematic plant genus and one of the most preferred food sources for frugivorous animals in the Neotropical region ( Oniki et al., 1994 ). Cecropia pachystachya Trécul (Urticaceae), as other species of the genus, is a common plant typical of the initial phases of ecological succession that attracts many frugivorous animals. Some studies have investigated the relationship between frugivorous birds and C. paschystachya ( Marcondes-Machado and Oliveira, 1988 ; Gonçalves and Vitorino, 2014 ). Nevertheless, there is a lack of studies that investigate the influence of individual and habitat features on the removal of C. paschystachya fruits by birds. Therefore, our main goal was to record the interactions between birds and C. paschystachya to examine which variables (height, crop size and richness of plant species fruiting nearby) may influence bird frugivory events.(AU)