Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-zzh7m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T13:28:12.078Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Seasonal fruiting and seed dispersal by the brown lemur in a tropical dry forest, north-western Madagascar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2013

Hiroki Sato
Hiroki Sato*
Affiliation:
Center for African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Japan Current address: 46 Shimoadachi-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan. Email: pocky.sato@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

Community-wide seasonal fruiting and seed dispersal by the common brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus fulvus) was investigated in a tropical dry forest, north-western Madagascar. The brown lemur is the sole disperser of large seeds > 10 mm in diameter. Considering the limited assemblage of dispersers, large-seeded plants should display distinctive fruiting patterns to acquire dispersers. To compare fruiting patterns and seed dispersal by the brown lemur between small-seeded and large-seeded plants, fruiting conditions for 432 trees on a transect, feeding activity over 1212 h of observation, and the composition of 1126 dung samples were recorded for 1 y. Seeds of a total of 52 species were identified through both observations and faecal analysis. As rainfall increased, larger numbers of species and individuals of small-seeded plants fruited. Among the 52 species, the brown lemur dispersed 29 and 13 species with small and large seeds, respectively, during the rainy season. High moisture levels probably favoured seed germination and seedling establishment in various species. During the dry season, although small-seeded species rarely fruited, a few large-seeded species, particularly Vitex beraviensis, formed a long-term fruiting peak and provided essential food resources for the brown lemur. Because seeds of these large-seeded plants were frequently dispersed by the brown lemur, dry-season fruiting seemed to be favourable to avoid competition for dispersers with other plant species.

Keywords

common brown lemurEulemur fulvus fulvusfaecal analysisfrugivorefruiting phenologyseasonalityseed dispersalseed size
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 29 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 61 - 69
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

ALTMANN, J. 1974. Observational study of behavior: sampling methods. Behaviour 49:227–265.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
ANDRIANAIVOARIVELO, R. A., RAMILIJAONA, O. R., RACEY, P. A., RAZAFINDRAKOTO, N. & JENKINS, R. K. B. 2011. Feeding ecology, habitat use and reproduction of Rousettus madagascariensis Grandidier, 1928 (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in eastern Madagascar. Mammalia 75:69–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BACH, C. S. 2002. Phenological patterns in monsoon rainforests in the Northern Territory, Australia. Austral Ecology 27:477–489.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BAKER, H. G. 1972. Seed weight in relation to environmental conditions in California. Ecology 53:997–1010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BLEHER, B., POTGIETER, C. J., JOHNSON, D. N. & BOHNING-GAESE, K. 2003. The importance of figs for frugivores in a South African coastal forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology 19:375–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BOLLEN, A. & DONATI, G. 2005. Phenology of the littoral forest of Sainte Luce, Southeastern Madagascar. Biotropica 37:32–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BOLLEN, A. & VAN ELSACKER, L. 2002. Feeding ecology of Pteropus rufus (Pteropodidae) in the littoral forest of Sainte Luce (southeast Madagascar). Acta Chiropterologica 4:33–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BOLLEN, A., VAN ELSACKER, L. & GANZHORN, J. U. 2004. Relations between fruits and disperser assemblages in a Malagasy littoral forest: a community-level approach. Journal of Tropical Ecology 20:599–612.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BOLLEN, A., DONATI, G., FIETZ, J., SCHWAB, D., RAMANAMANJATO, J.-B., RANDRIHASIPARA, L., VAN ELSACKER, L. & GANZHORN, J. 2005. An intersite comparison of fruit characteristics in Madagascar: evidence for selection pressure through abiotic constraints rather than through co-evolution. Pp. 93–119 in Dew, J. L. & Boubli, J. P. (eds.). Tropical fruits and frugivores: the search for strong interactions. Springer, Dordrecht. 260 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CAMPBELL, J. L., WILLIAMS, C. V. & EISEMANN, J. H. 2004. Use of total dietary fiber across four lemur species (Propithecus verrauxi coquereli, Hapalemur griseus griseus, Varecia variegata, and Eulemur fulvus): does fiber type affect digestive efficiency? American Journal of Primatology 64:323–335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
FENNER, M. 1998. The phenology of growth and reproduction in plants. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 1:78–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FIETZ, J. & DAUSMANN, K. H. 2006. Big is beautiful: fat storage and hibernation as a strategy to cope with marked seasonality in the fat-tailed dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus medius) Pp. 97–110 in Gould, L. & Sauther, M. L. (eds.). Lemurs: ecology and adaptation. Springer, New York. 450 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FLEMING, T. H., BREITWISH, R. & WHITESIDES, G. H. 1987. Patterns of tropical vertebrate frugivore diversity. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 18:91–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FRANKIE, G. W., BAKER, H. G. & OPLER, P. A. 1974. Comparative phenological studies of trees in tropical wet and dry forests in lowlands of Costa Rica. Journal of Ecology 62:881–919.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GANZHORN, J. U., FIETZ, J., RAKOTOVAO, E., SCHWAB, D. & ZINNER, D. 1999. Lemurs and the regeneration of dry deciduous forest in Madagascar. Conservation Biology 13:794–804.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GARBUTT, N. 2007. Mammals of Madagascar: a complete guide. Yale University Press, New Haven. 304 pp.Google Scholar
GARWOOD, N. C. 1983. Seed germination in a seasonal tropical forest in Panama: a community study. Ecological Monographs 53:159–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GOODMAN, S. M. & GANZHORN, J. U. 1997. Rarity of figs (Ficus) on Madagascar and its relationship to a depauperate frugivore community. Revue d'ecologie (Terre & Vie) 52:321–329.Google Scholar
GRIZ, L. M. S. & MACHADO, I. C. S. 2001. Fruiting phenology and seed dispersal syndromes in caatinga, a tropical dry forest in the northeast of Brazil. Journal of Tropical Ecology 17:303–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HERRERA, C. M. 1995. Plant–vertebrate seed dispersal systems in the Mediterranean: ecological, evolutionary, and historical determinants. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 26:705–727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JURY, M. R. 2003. The climate of Madagascar. Pp. 75–87 in Goodman, S. M. & Benstead, J. P. (eds.). The natural history of Madagascar. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 1709 pp.Google Scholar
JUSTINIANO, M. J. & FREDERICKSEN, T. S. 2000. Phenology of tree species in Bolivian dry forests. Biotropica 32:276–281.Google Scholar
KHURANA, E. & SINGH, J. S. 2001. Ecology of seed and seedling growth for conservation and restoration of tropical dry forest: a review. Environmental Conservation 28:39–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KHURANA, E. & SINGH, J. S. 2004. Germination and seedling growth of five tree species from tropical dry forest in relation to water stress: impact of seed size. Journal of Tropical Ecology 20:385–396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LAHANN, P. 2007. Feeding ecology and seed dispersal of sympatric cheirogaleid lemurs (Microcebus murinus, Cheirogaleus medius, Cheirogaleus major) in the littoral rainforest of south-east Madagascar. Journal of Zoology 271:88–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LAMBERT, F. R. & MARSHALL, A. G. 1991. Keystone characteristics of bird-dispersed Ficus in a Malaysian lowland rain forest. Journal of Ecology 79:793–809.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LEISHMAN, M. R. & WESTOBY, M. 1994. The role of seed size in seedling establishment in dry soil conditions: experimental evidence from semi-arid species. Journal of Ecology 82:249–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LIEBERMAN, D. 1982. Seasonality and phenology in a dry tropical forest in Ghana. Journal of Ecology 70:791–806.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MITANI, M. 1999. Does fruiting phenology vary with fruit syndrome? An investigation on animal-dispersed tree species in an evergreen forest in south-western Cameroon. Ecological Research 14:371–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MORRIS, P. & HAWKINS, F. 1998. Birds of Madagascar: a photographic guide. Yale University Press, New Haven. 316 pp.Google Scholar
MOSES, K. L. & SEMPLE, S. 2011. Primary seed dispersal by the black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata) in the Manombo forest, south-east Madagascar. Journal of Tropical Ecology 27:529–538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MURALI, K. S. & SUKUMAR, R. 1994. Reproductive phenology of a tropical dry forest in Mudumalai, southern India. Journal of Ecology 82:759–767.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NOMA, N. & YUMOTO, T. 1997. Fruiting phenology of animal-dispersed plants in response to winter migration of frugivores in a warm temperate forest on Yakushima Island, Japan. Ecological Research 12:119–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OSTNER, J., KAPPELER, P. & HEISTERMANN, M. 2008. Androgen and glucocorticoid levels reflect seasonally occurring social challenges in male redfronted lemurs (Eulemur fulvus rufus). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 62:627–638.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
POULIN, B., WRIGHT, S. J., LEFEBVRE, G. & CALDERON, O. 1999. Interspecific synchrony and asynchrony in the fruiting phenologies of congeneric bird-dispersed plants in Panama. Journal of Tropical Ecology 15:213–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
RASMUSSEN, M. A. 1999. Ecological influences on activity cycle in two cathemeral primates, the mongoose lemur (Eulemur mongoz) and the common brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus fulvus). PhD dissertation, Duke University, Raleigh.Google Scholar
SATO, H. 2011. The foraging strategy of common brown lemurs and the importance as seed dispersers in a dry deciduous forest in northwestern Madagascar. PhD dissertation, Kyoto University, Kyoto.Google Scholar
SATO, H. 2012. Frugivory and seed dispersal by brown lemurs in a Malagasy dry forest. Biotropica 44:479–488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SCHMID, J. 2000. Daily torpor in the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) in Madagascar: energetic consequences and biological significance. Oecologia 123:175–183.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
SELWYN, M. A. & PARTHASARATHY, N. 2007. Fruiting phenology in a tropical dry evergreen forest on the Coromandel coast of India in relation to plant life-forms, physiognomic groups, dispersal modes, and climatic constraints. Flora 202:371–382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SMYTHE, N. 1970. Relationships between fruiting seasons and seed dispersal methods in a neotropical forest. American Naturalist 104:25–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SNOW, D. W. 1965. A possible selective factor in the evolution of fruiting seasons in tropical forest. Oikos 15:274–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SORG, J.-P. & ROHNER, U. 1996. Climate and tree phenology of the dry deciduous forest at Kirindy. Pp. 57–80 in Ganzhorn, J. U. & Sorg, J.-P. (eds.). Ecology and economy of a tropical dry forest in Madagascar. Primate Report 46. Erich Goltze, Göttingen.Google Scholar
STILES, E. W. 1992. Animals as dispersers. Pp. 87–102 in Fenner, M. (ed.). Seeds: the ecology of regeneration in plant communities. CAB International, Wallingford. 410 pp.Google Scholar
SUSSMAN, R. W. 1977. Feeding behaviour of Lemur catta and Lemur fulvus. Pp. 1–36 in Clutton-Brock, T. H. (ed.). Primate ecology: studies of feeding and ranging behaviour in lemurs, monkeys, and apes. Academic Press, New York. 631 pp.Google Scholar
TOBLER, M. W., JANOVEC, J. P. & CORNEJO, F. 2010. Frugivory and seed dispersal by the lowland tapir Tapirus terrestris in the Peruvian Amazon. Biotropica 42:215–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VAN SCHAIK, C. P., TERBORGH, J. W. & WRIGHT, S. J. 1993. The phenology of tropical forests: adaptive significance and consequences for primary consumers. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 24:353–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WHEELWRIGHT, N. T. 1985. Fruit size, gape width, and the diets of fruit-eating birds. Ecology 66:808–818.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WRIGHT, D. D. 2005. Diet, keystone resources and altitudinal movement of dwarf cassowaries in relation to fruiting phenology in a Papua New Guinean rainforest. Pp. 205–236 in Dew, J. L. & Boubli, J. P. (eds.). Tropical fruits and frugivores: the search for strong interactors. Springer, Dordrecht. 260 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WRIGHT, P. C. 1999. Lemur traits and Madagascar ecology: coping with an island environment. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 42:31–72.3.0.CO;2-0>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WRIGHT, P. C., RAZAFINDRATSITA, V. R., POCHRON, S. T. & JERNAVALL, J. 2005. The key to Madagascar frugivores. Pp. 121–138 in Dew, J. L. & Boubli, J. P. (eds.). Tropical fruits and frugivores: the search for strong interactions. Springer, Dordrecht. 260 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar