Consumption of Euterpe edulis fruit by wildlife: implications for conservation and management of the Southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Juliano Z Da Silva,Maurício S Dos Reis

doi:10.1590/0001-3765201920180537

Juliano Z Da Silva, Maurício S Dos Reis

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201920180537

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Abstract

This study aimed to measure the wildlife consumption of Euterpe edulis fruit and use this data to discuss management possibilities. To estimate infructescence fruit volume consumed, collectors were installed in fruit-bearing palms. To characterize consumption from the ground, samples were placed next to fruiting palms. To identify wildlife and their activities, camera traps were installed in infructescences and on the ground. The results suggested that there was a small fruit surplus (1.8 %), and this finding indicated the possibility of a harvest to reduce food for the wildlife. However, recurrent variations in the annual fruit production (21.4 %) were also noted, and suggested that wildlife could tolerate some fruit harvesting. Thus, a harvest could be restricted to fruit volume that exceeds the annual average (94 kg/ha/year). Turdus flavipes, a migratory bird, was the most active species in the dispersal of seeds; this finding indicates the need for broader conservation strategies. Wildlife composition also changed along with the fruiting, and this alteration suggests that dependence on the fruit is variable among different species. Seed germination and seedling mortality were high, results that indicate that local conditions may have a predominant effect on seed volume in natural regeneration density.

Highlights

Many palms produce fruit of great economic importance
Studies related to the sustainable management of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are fundamentally concerned with natural regeneration and demographic growth of the target species (Pinard and Putz 1992, Godoy and Bawa 1993, Silva Matos et al 1999, Reis et al 2000, Freckleton et al 2003, Portela et al 2010, Pandey and Shackleton 2012), as well as the maintenance of genetic diversity (Reis 1996, Conte et al 2003, Seoane et al 2005, Silva and Reis 2010)
This paper aims to broaden the study of E. edulis by examining fruit consumption by wildlife, and looks to establish quantifiable surpluses by identifying the percentage of fruit consumed and the percentage of seeds that remain viable for germination

Summary

Introduction

Many palms produce fruit of great economic importance. The sustainability perspective normally places wildlife needs in second place, especially when it concerns the consumption of fruit pulp without seed destruction. Because of the intrinsic idea that animals may collect and consume other resources, the proportion of fruit from a given species that should remain in the forest to feed wildlife has been ignored. The question, “What are the consequences of disregarding or ignoring the fruiting of species considered key in the forest environment?”, is of great importance, especially when a specific fruiting period is related to a period of resource scarcity

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