Abstract
Seed dispersal by fruit-eating animals is a pivotal ecosystem function in tropical forests, but the role that frugivores have played in the biogeography and macroevolution of species-rich tropical plant families remains largely unexplored. This project investigates how frugivory-relevant plant traits (e.g. fruit size, fruit color, fruit shape etc.) are distributed within the angiosperm family of palms (Arecaceae), how this relates to diversification rates, and whether and how it coincides with the global biogeographic distribution of vertebrate frugivores (birds, bats, primates, other frugivorous mammals) and their ecological traits (e.g. diet specialization, body size, flight ability, color vision etc.). Palms are particularly suitable because they are well studied, species-rich, characteristic of tropical rainforests, and dispersed by all groups of vertebrate seed dispersers. Using newly compiled data on species distributions and ecological traits in combination with phylogenies we will test (1) how fruit trait variability relates to palm phylogeny and other aspects of plant morphology (e.g. leaf size, plant height, growth form), (2) whether geographic variability in fruit traits correlates with geographic distributions of animal consumers and their traits, and (3) to what extent interaction-relevant plant traits are related to palm diversification rates. This combined macroecological and macroevolutionary approach allows novel insights into the global ecology and the evolution of a tropical keystone plant family. This is important for the conservation and sustainable management of tropical rainforests because palms are often key components of subsistence economies, ecosystem dynamics and carbon storage and therefore help to enhance nature’s goods, benefits and services to humanity.
Highlights
A pivotal ecosystem function in tropical forests is animal-mediated seed dispersal, with about 90% of tropical plant species requiring animals to disperse their seeds (Howe and Smallwood 1982)
Frugivore-mediated seed dispersal is crucial for vegetation structure, ecosystem dynamics, and plant responses to anthropogenic disturbances and environmental change because it affects plant colonization ability, gene flow, and the genetic structure of plant populations (Fleming and Kress 2013)
Understanding the role of plant-frugivore interactions in ecosystem dynamics is crucial for the sustainable governance of our biological resources and the goods and services they provide to humanity (Sekercioglu 2006)
Summary
Has frugivory influenced the macroecology and diversification of a tropical keystone plant family?.
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