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Do frugivorous birds concentrate their foraging activities on those alien plants with the most abundant and nutritious fruits in the South African Mediterranean-climate region?

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Abstract

Alien plants with abundant and nutritious fruits may compete more effectively for avian dispersal services than native shrubs. This premise was examined by comparing daily foraging activity (visitation frequency, foraging bird number and foraging period) by four frugivorous bird species of different size on fruits of two native and two alien shrub species co-occurring at four different sites. Also, the quantities of seeds consumed daily by each of the four birds species from fruits of the four shrub species were measured and compared with the numbers of fruits and seeds, and the mass of fruits present in the shrub canopies as well as with their fruit monosaccharide concentrations. The quantities of seed consumed daily by four different size bird species (Columba arquatrix, Colius striatus, Pycnonotus capensis, Zosterops pallidus subsp capensis) were positively correlated with the numbers of seeds per m2 of canopy area and with fruit mass and fruit monosaccharide content per m2 of canopy area, as well as with the monosaccharide concentration of individual fruits, except in the C. arquatrix (African olive pigeon). All four bird species displayed the highest daily visitation frequencies on fruits of the alien Solanum mauritianum which were more abundant and nutritious than fruits of the other alien Lantana camara and fruits the natives Olea europaea subsp africana and Chrysanthemoides monilifera. They also all consumed greater quantities of seed daily from fruits of the alien S. mauritianum than from fruits of the other shrub species. These results corroborate proposals that frugivorous birds concentrate their foraging activities on those alien plants with the most abundant and nutritious fruits.

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Acknowledgments

Funds for this project were provided by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust and Lesotho Government which were administered by the South African National Biodiversity Institute and the University of Stellenbosch who also provided research facilities. Mr. Stanley Snyders provided technical assistance in the field. Mrs Judith Arnolds provided guidance in fruit nutritional essays and Mr. Leslie Powrie in extraction of plant distribution records from SANBI databases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Climate Change and Bio-Adaptation Division, Private Bag X7, Claremont, 7735, South Africa

    Thabiso Michael Mokotjomela & Charles F. Musil

  2. Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South Africa

    Thabiso Michael Mokotjomela & Karen J. Esler

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  1. Thabiso Michael Mokotjomela
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Correspondence to Thabiso Michael Mokotjomela.

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Mokotjomela, T.M., Musil, C.F. & Esler, K.J. Do frugivorous birds concentrate their foraging activities on those alien plants with the most abundant and nutritious fruits in the South African Mediterranean-climate region?. Plant Ecol 214, 49–59 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-012-0145-y

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