Avian frugivory inMiconia(Melastomataceae): contrasting fruiting times promote habitat complementarity between savanna and palm swamp

Abstract

Abstract:Species ofMiconiaare considered keystone plant resources for frugivorous birds in Neotropical forests, but for other ecosystems little of their ecological role is known. The fruiting phenology and the composition of frugivores of fourMiconiaspecies in savanna and palm swamp from the Brazilian Neotropical savanna were studied in three sites from November 2005 to May 2011. The hypothesis tested was that plants from different habitats share their frugivores and consequently promote links between habitats. Through focal plant observations (30–50 h per species in each site), 668 visits by 47 species of birds were recorded and plants from different habitats shared most of the frugivores (49–97%). The fruiting ofMiconia chamissoisin the palm swamp during the period of fruit scarcity (dry season) was accompanied by an enhancement in the frugivore bird richness and abundance in this habitat, providing indirect evidence of resource tracking. Bird species which primarily dwell in savanna recorded consuming fruits in palm swamps during the resource-scarce season is taken as evidence of landscape supplementation.Miconiaassemblage studied here seems to promote a link between two adjacent habitats in the Neotropical savanna from Central Brazil, a link which is likely to be common in this naturally patchy ecosystem.