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Gómez-Devia L, Nevo O. Effects of temperature gradient on functional fruit traits: an elevation-for-temperature approach. BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:94. [PMID: 38982367 PMCID: PMC11232184 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-024-02271-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Fruit traits mediate animal-plant interactions and have to a large degree evolved to match the sensory capacities and morphology of their respective dispersers. At the same time, fruit traits are affected by local environmental factors, which may affect frugivore-plant trait match. Temperature has been identified as a major factor with a strong effect on the development of fruits, which is of serious concern because of the rising threat of global warming. Nonetheless, this primarily originates from studies on domesticated cultivars in often controlled environments. Little is known on the effect of rising temperatures on fruit traits of wild species and the implications this could have to seed dispersal networks, including downstream consequences to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. In a case study of five plant species from eastern Madagascar, we addressed this using the elevation-for-temperature approach and examined whether a temperature gradient is systematically associated with variation in fruit traits relevant for animal foraging and fruit selection. We sampled across a gradient representing a temperature gradient of 1.5-2.6 °C, corresponding to IPCC projections. The results showed that in most cases there was no significant effect of temperature on the traits evaluated, although some species showed different effects, particularly fruit chemical profiles. This suggests that in these species warming within this range alone is not likely to drive substantial changes in dispersal networks. While no systemic effects were found, the results also indicate that the effect of temperature on fruit traits differs across species and may lead to mismatches in specific animal-plant interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Gómez-Devia
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) , Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany.
- Global Change Research Group, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB), Esporles, Spain.
- Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Omer Nevo
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) , Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
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2
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Casorso JG, DePasquale AN, Romero Morales S, Cheves Hernandez S, Lopez Navarro R, Hockings KJ, Carrigan MA, Melin AD. Seed dispersal syndrome predicts ethanol concentration of fruits in a tropical dry forest. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230804. [PMID: 37464751 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Studying fruit traits and their interactions with seed dispersers can improve how we interpret patterns of biodiversity, ecosystem function and evolution. Mounting evidence suggests that fruit ethanol is common and variable, and may exert selective pressures on seed dispersers. To test this, we comprehensively assess fruit ethanol content in a wild ecosystem and explore sources of variation. We hypothesize that both phylogeny and seed dispersal syndrome explain variation in ethanol levels, and we predict that fruits with mammalian dispersal traits will contain higher levels of ethanol than those with bird dispersal traits. We measured ripe fruit ethanol content in species with mammal- (n = 16), bird- (n = 14) or mixed-dispersal (n = 7) syndromes in a Costa Rican tropical dry forest. Seventy-eight per cent of fruit species yielded measurable ethanol concentrations. We detected a phylogenetic signal in maximum ethanol levels (Pagel's λ = 0.82). Controlling for phylogeny, we observed greater ethanol concentrations in mammal-dispersed fruits, indicating that dispersal syndrome helps explain variation in ethanol content, and that mammals may be more exposed to ethanol in their diets than birds. Our findings further our understanding of wild fruit ethanol and its potential role as a selective pressure on frugivore sensory systems and metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia G Casorso
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Allegra N DePasquale
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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3
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Brodie JF, Henao-Diaz LF, Pratama B, Copeland C, Wheeler T, Helmy OE. Fruit Size in Indo-Malayan Island Plants Is More Strongly Influenced by Filtering than by In Situ Evolution. Am Nat 2023; 201:574-585. [PMID: 36957999 DOI: 10.1086/723212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
AbstractCommunity trait assembly, the formation of distributions of phenotypic characteristics across coexisting species, can occur via two main processes: filtering of trait distributions from the regional pool and in situ phenotypic evolution in local communities. But the relative importance of these processes remains unclear, largely because of the difficulty in determining the timing of evolutionary trait changes and biogeographic dispersal events in phylogenies. We assessed evolutionary and biogeographic transitions in woody plant species across the Indo-Malay archipelago, a series of island groups where the same plant lineages interact with different seed disperser and seed predator assemblages. Fruit size in 2,650 taxa spanning the angiosperm tree of life tended to be smaller in the Sulawesi and Maluku island groups, where frugivores are less diverse and smaller bodied, than in the regional source pool. While numerous plant lineages (not just small-fruited ones) reached the isolated islands, colonists tended to be the smaller-fruited members of each clade. Nearly all of the evolutionary transitions to smaller fruit size predated, often substantially, organismal dispersal to the islands. Our results suggest that filtering rather than within-island evolution largely determined the distribution of fruit sizes in these regions.
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Spengler RN, Kienast F, Roberts P, Boivin N, Begun DR, Ashastina K, Petraglia M. Bearing Fruit: Miocene Apes and Rosaceous Fruit Evolution. BIOLOGICAL THEORY 2023; 18:134-151. [PMID: 37214192 PMCID: PMC10191964 DOI: 10.1007/s13752-022-00413-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Extinct megafaunal mammals in the Americas are often linked to seed-dispersal mutualisms with large-fruiting tree species, but large-fruiting species in Europe and Asia have received far less attention. Several species of arboreal Maloideae (apples and pears) and Prunoideae (plums and peaches) evolved large fruits starting around nine million years ago, primarily in Eurasia. As evolutionary adaptations for seed dispersal by animals, the size, high sugar content, and bright colorful visual displays of ripeness suggest that mutualism with megafaunal mammals facilitated the evolutionary change. There has been little discussion as to which animals were likely candidate(s) on the late Miocene landscape of Eurasia. We argue that several possible dispersers could have consumed the large fruits, with endozoochoric dispersal usually relying on guilds of species. During the Pleistocene and Holocene, the dispersal guild likely included ursids, equids, and elephantids. During the late Miocene, large primates were likely also among the members of this guild, and the potential of a long-held mutualism between the ape and apple clades merits further discussion. If primates were a driving factor in the evolution of this large-fruit seed-dispersal system, it would represent an example of seed-dispersal-based mutualism with hominids millions of years prior to crop domestication or the development of cultural practices, such as farming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert N. Spengler
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Domestication and Anthropogenic Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Frank Kienast
- Senckenberg Research Station of Quaternary, Palaeontology, Weimar, Germany
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC USA
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - David R. Begun
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Kseniia Ashastina
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Domestication and Anthropogenic Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Michael Petraglia
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC USA
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland Australia
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5
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Veilleux CC, Dominy NJ, Melin AD. The sensory ecology of primate food perception, revisited. Evol Anthropol 2022; 31:281-301. [PMID: 36519416 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Twenty years ago, Dominy and colleagues published "The sensory ecology of primate food perception," an impactful review that brought new perspectives to understanding primate foraging adaptations. Their review synthesized information on primate senses and explored how senses informed feeding behavior. Research on primate sensory ecology has seen explosive growth in the last two decades. Here, we revisit this important topic, focusing on the numerous new discoveries and lines of innovative research. We begin by reviewing each of the five traditionally recognized senses involved in foraging: audition, olfaction, vision, touch, and taste. For each sense, we provide an overview of sensory function and comparative ecology, comment on the state of knowledge at the time of the original review, and highlight advancements and lingering gaps in knowledge. Next, we provide an outline for creative, multidisciplinary, and innovative future research programs that we anticipate will generate exciting new discoveries in the next two decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carrie C Veilleux
- Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona, USA
| | - Nathaniel J Dominy
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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6
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Fuzessy L, Silveira FAO, Culot L, Jordano P, Verdú M. Phylogenetic congruence between Neotropical primates and plants is driven by frugivory. Ecol Lett 2021; 25:320-329. [PMID: 34775664 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Seed dispersal benefits plants and frugivores, and potentially drives co-evolution, with consequences to diversification evidenced for, e.g., primates. Evidence for macro-coevolutionary patterns in multi-specific, plant-animal mutualisms is scarce, and the mechanisms driving them remain unexplored. We tested for phylogenetic congruences in primate-plant interactions and showed strong co-phylogenetic signals across Neotropical forests, suggesting that both primates and plants share evolutionary history. Phylogenetic congruence between Platyrrhini and Angiosperms was driven by the most generalist primates, modulated by their functional traits, interacting with a wide-range of Angiosperms. Consistently similar eco-evolutionary dynamics seem to be operating irrespective of local assemblages, since co-phylogenetic signal emerged independently across three Neotropical regions. Our analysis supports the idea that macroevolutionary, coevolved patterns among interacting mutualistic partners are driven by super-generalist taxa. Trait convergence among multiple partners within multi-specific assemblages appears as a mechanism favouring these likely coevolved outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisieux Fuzessy
- Department of Biodiversity, Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP campus Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil.,CREAF, Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Foresta, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain.,Estación Biológica de Doñana, EBD-CSIC, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Fernando A O Silveira
- Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Laurence Culot
- Department of Biodiversity, Universidade Estadual Paulista, UNESP campus Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Pedro Jordano
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, EBD-CSIC, Sevilla, Spain.,Facultad de Biología, Department Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Miguel Verdú
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación, CSIC-UV-GV, Moncada, Valencia, Spain
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Valenta K, Bhramdat HD, Calhoun GV, Daegling DJ, Nevo O. Variation in ripe fruit hardness: a mechanical constraint? OIKOS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kim Valenta
- Dept of Anthropology, Univ. of Florida, Turlington Hall Gainesville FL USA
| | - Henna D. Bhramdat
- Dept of Anthropology, Univ. of Florida, Turlington Hall Gainesville FL USA
| | - Grace V. Calhoun
- Dept of Anthropology, Univ. of Florida, Turlington Hall Gainesville FL USA
| | - David J. Daegling
- Dept of Anthropology, Univ. of Florida, Turlington Hall Gainesville FL USA
| | - Omer Nevo
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
- Friedrich Schiller Univ. Jena, Inst. of Biodiversity Jena Germany
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8
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Mahandran V, Murugan CM, Gang W, Jin C, Nathan PT. Multimodal cues facilitate ripe-fruit localization and extraction in free-ranging pteropodid bats. Behav Processes 2021; 189:104426. [PMID: 34048877 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Revised: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Sensory cues play an important role in any plant-animal interaction. Yet, we know very little about the cues used by wild mammals during fruit selection. Existing evidence mainly comes from captive studies and suggests that the pteropodid bats rely on olfaction to find fruits. In this study, we avoided captivity-generated stressors and provide insights from natural selective forces by performing manipulative experiments on free-ranging fruit bats (Cynopterus sphinx) in a wild setting, in a tree species that exhibits a bat-fruit syndrome (Madhuca longifolia var. latifolia). We find that visual cues are necessary and sufficient to locate ripe fruits. Fruit experiments exhibiting visual cues alone received more bat visits than those exhibiting other combinations of visual and olfactory cues. Ripe fruit extractions were higher by bats that evaluated fruits by perching than hovering, indicating an additional cue, i.e., haptic cue. Visual cues appear to be informative over short distances, whereas olfactory and haptic cues facilitate the fruit evaluation for those bats that used hovering and perching strategies, respectively. This study also shows that adult bats were more skillful in extracting ripe fruits than the young bats, and there was a positive correlation between the weight of selected fruits and bat weight. This study suggests that the integration of multimodal cues (visual, olfactory and haptic) facilitate ripe-fruit localization and extraction in free-ranging pteropodid bats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valliyappan Mahandran
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
| | | | - Wang Gang
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
| | - Chen Jin
- CAS-Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China
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9
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Valenta K, Nevo O. The dispersal syndrome hypothesis: How animals shaped fruit traits, and how they did not. Funct Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kim Valenta
- Department of Anthropology University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
| | - Omer Nevo
- Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics Ulm University Ulm Germany
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11
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Carducci P, Squillace V, Manzi G, Truppa V. Touch improves visual discrimination of object features in capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.). Behav Processes 2020; 172:104044. [PMID: 31954810 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2019] [Revised: 01/03/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Primates perceive many object features through vision and touch. To date, little is known on how the synergy of these two sensory modalities contributes to enhance object recognition. Here, we investigated in capuchin monkeys (N = 12) whether manipulating objects and retaining tactile information enhanced visual recognition of geometrical object properties on different scales. Capuchins were trained to visually select the rewarded one of two objects differing in size, shape (larger-scale) or surface structure (smaller-scale). Objects were explored in two experimental conditions: the Sight condition prevented capuchins from touching the chosen object; the Sight and Touch condition allowed them to touch the selected object. Our results indicated that tactile information increased the capuchins' learning speed for visual discrimination of object features. Moreover, the capuchins' learning speed was higher in both size and shape discrimination compared to surface discrimination regardless of the availability of tactile input. Overall, our data demonstrated that the acquisition of tactile information about object features was advantageous for the capuchins and allowed them to achieve high levels of visual accuracy faster. This suggests that information from touch potentiated object recognition in the visual modality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Carducci
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), Via Ulisse Aldrovandi 16/B, 00197, Rome, Italy; Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Environmental Biology, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - Valerio Squillace
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), Via Ulisse Aldrovandi 16/B, 00197, Rome, Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Environmental Biology, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Truppa
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), Via Ulisse Aldrovandi 16/B, 00197, Rome, Italy.
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Kumar C, Palacios A, Surapaneni VA, Bold G, Thielen M, Licht E, Higham TE, Speck T, Le Houérou V. Replicating the complexity of natural surfaces: technique validation and applications for biomimetics, ecology and evolution. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2019; 377:20180265. [PMID: 30967061 PMCID: PMC6335282 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2018.0265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/09/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The surfaces of animals, plants and abiotic structures are not only important for organismal survival, but they have also inspired countless biomimetic and industrial applications. Additionally, the surfaces of animals and plants exhibit an unprecedented level of diversity, and animals often move on the surface of plants. Replicating these surfaces offers a number of advantages, such as preserving a surface that is likely to degrade over time, controlling for non-structural aspects of surfaces, such as compliance and chemistry, and being able to produce large areas of a small surface. In this paper, we compare three replication techniques among a number of species of plants, a technical surface and a rock. We then use two model parameters (cross-covariance function ratio and relative topography difference) to develop a unique method for quantitatively evaluating the quality of the replication. Finally, we outline future directions that can employ highly accurate surface replications, including ecological and evolutionary studies, biomechanical experiments, industrial applications and improving haptic properties of bioinspired surfaces. The recent advances associated with surface replication and imaging technology have formed a foundation on which to incorporate surface information into biological sciences and to improve industrial and biomimetic applications. This article is part of the theme issue 'Bioinspired materials and surfaces for green science and technology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charchit Kumar
- Institut Charles Sadron, CNRS UPR022, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
- Plant Biomechanics Group and Botanic Garden, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- FIT, Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Alejandro Palacios
- Institut Charles Sadron, CNRS UPR022, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
- Plant Biomechanics Group and Botanic Garden, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Venkata A. Surapaneni
- Plant Biomechanics Group and Botanic Garden, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- FMF, Freiburg Materials Research Center, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Georg Bold
- Plant Biomechanics Group and Botanic Garden, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- FIT, Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Marc Thielen
- Plant Biomechanics Group and Botanic Garden, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- FMF, Freiburg Materials Research Center, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Erik Licht
- Basell Deutschland GmbH, LyondellBasell Industries, Frankfurt a.M, Germany
| | - Timothy E. Higham
- Plant Biomechanics Group and Botanic Garden, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Thomas Speck
- Plant Biomechanics Group and Botanic Garden, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- FIT, Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, Freiburg, Germany
- FMF, Freiburg Materials Research Center, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Vincent Le Houérou
- Institut Charles Sadron, CNRS UPR022, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
- ICube, UMR7357, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
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14
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Valenta K, Kalbitzer U, Razafimandimby D, Omeja P, Ayasse M, Chapman CA, Nevo O. The evolution of fruit colour: phylogeny, abiotic factors and the role of mutualists. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14302. [PMID: 30250307 PMCID: PMC6155155 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32604-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Accepted: 09/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The adaptive significance of fruit colour has been investigated for over a century. While colour can fulfil various functions, the most commonly tested hypothesis is that it has evolved to increase fruit visual conspicuousness and thus promote detection and consumption by seed dispersing animals. However, fruit colour is a complex trait which is subjected to various constraints and selection pressures. As a result, the effect of animal selection on fruit colour are often difficult to identify, and several studies have failed to detect it. Here, we employ an integrative approach to examine what drives variation in fruit colour. We quantified the colour of ripe fruit and mature leaves of 97 tropical plant species from three study sites in Madagascar and Uganda. We used phylogenetically controlled models to estimate the roles of phylogeny, abiotic factors, and dispersal mode on fruit colour variation. Our results show that, independent of phylogeny and leaf coloration, mammal dispersed fruits are greener than bird dispersed fruits, while the latter are redder than the former. In addition, fruit colour does not correlate with leaf colour in the visible spectrum, but fruit reflection in the ultraviolet area of the spectrum is strongly correlated with leaf reflectance, emphasizing the role of abiotic factors in determining fruit colour. These results demonstrate that fruit colour is affected by both animal sensory ecology and abiotic factors and highlight the importance of an integrative approach which controls for the relevant confounding factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Valenta
- Duke University, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, 130 Science Dr., Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Urs Kalbitzer
- McGill University, McGill School of the Environment and Department of Anthropology, 3534 University Ave., Montreal, Quebec, H3A-2A7, Canada
| | - Diary Razafimandimby
- Faculty of Sciences, Zoology and Animal Biodiversity, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Patrick Omeja
- Makerere University Biological Field Station, P.O. Box 907, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Manfred Ayasse
- University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, Ulm, 89081, Germany
| | - Colin A Chapman
- McGill University, McGill School of the Environment and Department of Anthropology, 3534 University Ave., Montreal, Quebec, H3A-2A7, Canada
| | - Omer Nevo
- University of Ulm, Institute of Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Genomics, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, Ulm, 89081, Germany.
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15
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The prickles of Astrocaryum malybo as a structural defense to avoid seed predation. FOOD WEBS 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2018.e00088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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16
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Lemur species-specific metapopulation responses to habitat loss and fragmentation. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0195791. [PMID: 29742108 PMCID: PMC5942715 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Accepted: 03/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Determining what factors affect species occurrence is vital to the study of primate biogeography. We investigated the metapopulation dynamics of a lemur community consisting of eight species (Avahi occidentalis, Propithecus coquereli, Microcebus murinus, Microcebus ravelobensis, Lepilemur edwardsi, Cheirogaleus medius, Eulemur mongoz, and Eulemur fulvus) within fragmented tropical dry deciduous forest habitat in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar. We measured fragment size and isolation of 42 fragments of forest ranging in size from 0.23 to 117.7 ha adjacent to continuous forest. Between June and November 2011, we conducted 1218 surveys and observed six of eight lemur species (M. murinus, M. ravelobensis, C. medius, E. fulvus, P. coquereli, and L. edwardsi) in the 42 fragments. We applied among patch incidence function models (IFMs) with various measures of dispersal and a mainland-island IFM to lemur species occurrence, with the aim of answering the following questions: 1) Do lemur species in dry deciduous forest fragments form metapopulations? 2) What are the separate effects of area (extinction risk) and connectivity/isolation (colonization potential) within a lemur metapopulation? 3) Within simulated metapopulations over time, how do area and connectivity/isolation affect occurrence? and 4) What are the conservation implications of our findings? We found that M. murinus formed either a mainland-island or an among patch metapopulation, M. ravelobensis formed a mainland-island metapopulation, C. medius and E. fulvus formed among patch metapopulations, and neither P. coquereli or L. edwardsi formed a metapopulation. Metapopulation dynamics and simulations suggest that area was a more consistent positive factor determining lemur species occurrence than fragment isolation and is crucial to the maintenance of lemur populations within this fragmented landscape. Using a metapopulation approach to lemur biogeography is critical for understanding how lemur species respond to forest loss and fragmentation.
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Valenta K, Chapman CA. Primate-Plant Mutualisms: Is There Evidence for Primate Fruit Syndromes? PRIMATE LIFE HISTORIES, SEX ROLES, AND ADAPTABILITY 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-98285-4_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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Valenta K, Nevo O, Martel C, Chapman CA. Plant attractants: integrating insights from pollination and seed dispersal ecology. Evol Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-016-9870-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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