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Distribution of the community of frugivorous birds along a successional gradient in a tropical dry forest in south-western Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2014

R. Carlos Almazán-Núñez ,
María del Coro Arizmendi ,
Luis E. Eguiarte  and
Pablo Corcuera
R. Carlos Almazán-Núñez
Affiliation:
Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina Iztapalapa, C.P. 09340, Mexico, D.F.Mexico
María del Coro Arizmendi
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Ecología, Unidad de Biotecnología y Prototipos, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, C.P. 05490, Mexico, D.F.Mexico
Luis E. Eguiarte
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Evolución Molecular y Experimental, Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, C.P. 04510, Mexico, D.F.Mexico
Pablo Corcuera*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina Iztapalapa, C.P. 09340, Mexico, D.F.Mexico
*
1Corresponding author. Email: pcmr@xanum.uam.mx
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Abstract:

Few reports have described the relationship between the distribution of frugivorous birds and vegetation successional changes in dry forests. We assessed the abundance and behaviour of frugivorous birds in early, intermediate and mature dry forests in the Balsas river basin, Guerrero, Mexico. We selected nine dry-forest fragments, three fragments per stage, in these three stages of succession. We analysed the vegetation, estimated bird abundances in 10-min count periods, and recorded the way birds process fruits in circular plots (11–15 plots per fragment, 123 plots in total). Birds were classified as seed predators (15% of all individuals in this study), pulp consumers (15%) or legitimate dispersers (70%). Bird abundance was higher in mature forests in the dry season, while abundance and richness of legitimate dispersers and seed predators were positively related to vegetation complexity. Mature forests have a high vegetation complexity and a high cover of Bursera species that produce fruit during the dry season. During the rains, abundance was higher in early-successional sites when the zoochorous plants produced fruit. Legitimate disperser migrants (i.e. Tyrannus vociferans, Myiarchus cinerascens and M. tyrannulus) were widespread, helping the establishment of zoochorous trees such as Bursera spp. in early-successional forests.

Keywords

Burseradisturbanceforest successionmigratory birdstyrannidszoochorous trees
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , January 2015 , pp. 57 - 68
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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References

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