The Effect of Bicolored Fruit Displays on Fruit Removal by Avian Frugivores

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that red-and-black fruiting displays enhance fruit removal rates by frugivorous birds in field experiments using wild black cherry Prunus serotina Ehrh. and pokeweed Phytolacca americana L. We compared fruit removal from mixed displays of immature red and ripe black cherries with control displays composed solely of black cherries. Experimental displays of pokeweed fruits had red stems and black berries while the controls had green stems and black berries. We placed cherry and pokeweed displays in and out of forest treefall gaps in a woodlot in east-central Illinois. Fruit removal was greater for red-and-black displays than for controls and was greater in treefall gaps than in nongap areas. Furthermore, the effect of red-and-black displays was enhanced in gaps relative to the interior.