Frugivory of carnivores and seed dispersal of fleshy fruits in cool-temperate deciduous forests

Informa UK Limited - Tập 13 - Trang 215-222 - 2008
Shinsuke Koike1, Hideto Morimoto2, Yusuke Goto3,4, Chinatsu Kozakai1, Koji Yamazaki5
1United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Japan
2Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Japan
3Graduate School of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Japan
4Tateyama Caldera Sabo Museum, Tateyamachou, Japan
5Ibaraki Nature Museum, Bandou, Japan

Tóm tắt

Five members of the order Carnivora in the cool-temperate deciduous forests of Japan consume the fruits of trees, and they are potential dispersers of the seeds of fleshy-fruited plants. We studied the frugivory of the Asiatic black bear, Japanese marten, badger, red fox, and raccoon dog in cool-temperate deciduous forest of central Japan. From May 2003 to April 2005, a total of 377 fecal samples of the five carnivores (bears, 91; martens, 158; badgers, 45; foxes, 36; and raccoon dogs, 47) were sampled to determine the presence and frequency of occurrence of seeds. Seeds from 17 plant species, representing about 50% of the fleshy-fruited plants occurring in the study forest, were recovered from the carnivore fecal samples. Large numbers (9–10,256) of seeds were present in those feces. Almost all the seeds of fleshy fruits retrieved from the fecal samples were undamaged whereas no intact acorns or nuts were recovered. These findings suggest that all five carnivores can act as seed dispersers for some fleshy-fruited plants in cool-temperate deciduous forest.

Tài liệu tham khảo

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