Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-tj2md Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T11:22:47.019Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

8 - Frugivory in large mammalian herbivores

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2009

By
Richard Bodmer  and
David Ward
Edited by
Kjell Danell ,
Roger Bergström ,
Patrick Duncan  and
John Pastor
Richard Bodmer
Affiliation:
University of Kent
David Ward
Affiliation:
University of KwaZulu‐Natal
Kjell Danell
Affiliation:
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Roger Bergström
Affiliation:
The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden
Patrick Duncan
Affiliation:
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris
John Pastor
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Duluth
Get access

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Body size and complexity of digestive systems are key factors in the herbivore ecology of mammals (Langer 1987), and much attention has been devoted to herbivory in browsing and grazing forms and how this relates to conservation (Sinclair & Arcese 1995, Owen‐Smith 2002). However, frugivory, or fruit feeding, is equally important in the ecology of mammalian herbivores and the conservation of biodiversity (Bodmer 1990, Andresen 2000, Levey et al. 2002). This chapter looks at frugivory in large mammalian herbivores. It focuses on the tropical regions, but we must stress that frugivory is equally important in temperate habitats. The chapter examines: (1) the relationships between frugivores and the evolution of browsing and grazing herbivory; (2) the ecology of frugivory in relation to seed dispersal and seed predation; and (3) two case studies of frugivory, one in the Negev desert and the other in Amazonia. The case studies show the importance of frugivory in the ecology of large herbivores, and the links between frugivory and conservation.

Successful biological conservation requires an understanding of the ecology of species and their interactions with human resource use (Freese 1997). Frugivory in large herbivores exemplifies these relations and the need for studying ecological interactions to understand the application of successful conservation (Levey et al. 2002). For example, the bush meat crisis in tropical forests is currently one of the most important conservation issues that must be addressed (Robinson & Bennett 2000).

Type
Chapter
Information
Large Herbivore Ecology, Ecosystem Dynamics and Conservation , pp. 232 - 260
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andresen, E. (2000). Ecological roles of mammals: the case of seed dispersal. In Priorities for the Conservation of Mammalian Diversity: Has the Panda had its Day?, ed. Entwistle, A. & Dunstone, N.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 11–25.Google Scholar
Ayres, J. M. (1989). Comparative feeding ecology of the uakari and bearded saki, Cacajao and Chiropotes. Journal of Human Evolution, 18, 697–716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, R. H. V. (1971). A grazing ecosystem in the Serengeti. Scientific American, 255, 86–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bodmer, R. E. (1989). Frugivory in Amazonian Artiodactyla: evidence for the evolution of the ruminant stomach. Journal of Zoology, 219, 457–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bodmer, R. E. (1990). Ungulate frugivores and the browser‐grazer continuum. Oikos, 57, 319–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bodmer, R. E. (1991). Strategies of seed dispersal and seed predation in Amazonian ungulates. Biotropica, 23, 255–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bodmer, R. E. & Pezo Lozano, E. (2001). Rural development and sustainable wildlife use in the tropics. Conservation Biology, 15, 1163–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bodmer, R. E., Penn, J. W., Puertas, P. E., Moya I. L. & Fang, T. G. (1997). Linking conservation and local people through sustainable use of natural resources: community‐based management in the Peruvian Amazon. In Harvesting Wild Species, ed. Freese, C.. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 315–58.Google Scholar
Bodmer, R. E., Allen, C. M., Penn, J. W., Aquino, R. & Reyes, C. (1999). Evaluating the sustainable use of wildlife in the Pacaya‐Samiria National Reserve, Peru. America Verdi, 4a, 1–36.Google Scholar
Carroll, R. L. (1988). Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. New York: W. H. Freeman & Co.Google Scholar
Caughley, G. & Sinclair, A. R. E. (1994). Wildlife Ecology and Management. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.Google Scholar
Chivers, D. J. & Hladik, C. M. (1980). Morphology of the gastrointestinal tract in primates: comparisons with other mammals in relation to diet. Journal of Morphology, 166, 337–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clutton‐Brock, T. H. & Harvey, P. H. (1983). The functional significance of variation in body size among mammals. Special Publication of the American Society of Mammalogy, 7, 632–63.Google Scholar
Coe, M. & Coe, C. (1987). Large herbivores, Acacia trees and bruchid beetles. South African Journal of Science, 83, 624–35.Google Scholar
Collinson, M. E. & Hooker, J. J. (1987). Vegetational and mammalian faunal changes in the Early Tertiary of southern England. In The Origins of Angiosperms and their Biological Consequences, ed. Friis, E. M., Chalconer, W. G. & Crane, P. R.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 359–04.Google Scholar
Coughenour, M. B. & Detling, J. K. (1986). Acacia tortilis seed germination responses to water potential and nutrients. African Journal of Ecology, 24, 203–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crompton, A. W.,Taylor, C. R. & Jagger, J. A. (1978). Evolution of homeothermy in mammals. Nature, 272, 333–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Demment, M. W. & Soest, P. J. (1985). A nutritional explanation for body‐size patterns of ruminant and nonruminant herbivores. American Naturalist, 125, 641–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dublin, H. T., Sinclair, A. R. E. & McGlade, J. (1990). Elephants and fire and causes of multiple stable states in the Serengeti‐Mara woodlands. Journal of Animal Ecology, 59, 1147–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Estrada, A. & Coates‐Estrada, R. (1986). Frugivory in howling monkeys (Alouatta palliata) at Los Tuxtlas, Mexico: dispersal and fate of seeds. In Frugivores and Seed Dispersal, ed. Estrada, A. & Fleming, T. H.. Lancaster: Dr. W. Junk Pub., pp. 93–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleming, T. H. (1988). The Short‐tailed Fruit Bat: A Study in Plant‐Animal Interactions. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Fleming, T. H. (1991). The relationship between body size, diet, and habitat use in frugivorous bats, genus Carollia (Phyllostomidae). Journal of Mammalogy, 72, 493–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleming, T. H. & Sosa, V. J. (1994). Effects of nectarivotous and frugivorous mammals on reproductive sucess of plants. Journal of Mammalogy, 75, 845–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foose, T. J. (1982). Trophic strategies of ruminant versus nonruminant ungulates. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Chicago.
Forget, P. (1991). Scatterhoarding of Astrocaryum paramaca by Proechimys in French Guiana: comparison with Myoprocta exilis. Tropical Ecology, 32, 155–7.Google Scholar
Foster, R. B. (1982). Famine on Barro Colorado Island. In The Ecology of a Tropical Forest: Seasonal Rhythms and Long‐term Change, ed. Leigh, E. G., Rand, A. S. & Windsor, D. M.. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 201–12.Google Scholar
Fragoso, J. M. V., Silvius, K. M. & Correa, J. A. (2003). Long‐distance seed dispersal by tapirs increases seed survival and aggregates tropical trees. Ecology, 84, 1998–2006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freese, C. (1997). Harvesting Wild Species. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Halevy, G. (1974). Effects of gazelles and seed beetles (Bruchidae) on germination and establishment of Acacia species. Israel Journal of Botany, 23, 120–6.Google Scholar
Hallwachs, W. (1986). Agoutis (Dasyprocta punctata), the inheritos of guapinol (Hymenaea courbaril: Leguminosae). In Frugivores and Seed Dispersal, ed. Estrada, A. & Fleming, T. H.. Lancaster: Dr W. Junk Publisher, pp. 285–304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hofmann, R. R. (1989). Evolutionary steps of ecophysiological adaptation and diversification of ruminants: a comparative view of their digestive system. Oecologia, 78, 443–57.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hulme, P. E. (2002). Seed eaters: seed dispersal, destruction and demography. In Frugivory and Seed Dispersal: Ecological, Evolutionary and Conservation Issues, Levey, D., Galetti, M. & Silva, W.. Oxford: CAB International Publishing, pp. 257–73.Google Scholar
Janis, C. M. (1976). The evolutionary strategy of the Equidae and the origins of rumen and cecal digestion. Evolution, 30, 757–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Janis, C. M. (1989). A climatic explanation for patterns of evolutionary diversity in ungulate mammals. Palaeontology, 32, 463–81.Google Scholar
Janzen, D. H. (1981). Digestive seed predation by a Costa Rican Baird's tapir. Biotropica, 13 (Supplement), 59–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kiltie, R. A. (1981a). Stomach contents of rain forest peccaries (Tayassu tajacu and T. pecari). Biotropica, 13, 234–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kiltie, R. A. (1981b). The significance of interlocking canines in rain forest peccaries (Tayassuidae). Journal of Mammalogy, 62, 459–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kiltie, R. A. (1982). Bite force as a basis for niche differentiation between rain forest peccaries (Tayassu tajacu and T. pecari). Biotropica, 14, 188–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kiltie, R. A. & Terborgh, J. (1983). Observations on the behavior of rain forest peccaries in Peru: why do white‐lipped peccaries form herds?Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologia, 62, 241–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kinzey, W. G. (1974). Ceboid models for the evolution of hominoid dentition. Journal of Human Evolution, 3, 193–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kinzey, W. G. & Norconk, M. A. (1990). Hardness as a basis of fruit choice in two sympatric primates. Journal of Physical Anthropology, 18, 5–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langer, P. (1974). Stomach evolution in the Artiodactyla. Mammalia, 38, 295–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langer, P. (1984). Anatomical and nutritional adaptations in wild herbivores. In Herbivore Nutrition in the Subtropics and Tropics, Gilchrist, F. M. C. & Mackie, R. I.. Craighall: Science Press, R.S.A., pp. 185–203.Google Scholar
Langer, P. (1986). Large mammalian herbivores in tropical forests with either hindgut‐ or forestomach‐fermentation. Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde, 51, 173–87.Google Scholar
Langer, P. (1987). Evolutionary patterns of Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla (Mammalia) with different types of digestion. Zeitschrift für Zoologische Systematik und Evolutionsforschung, 25, 212–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leigh, E. J., Jr. (1999). Tropical Forest Ecology: A View from Barro Colorado Island. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Levey, D., Galetti, M. & Silva, W. (2002). Frugivory and Seed Dispersal: Ecological, Evolutionary and Conservation Issues. Oxford: CAB International Publishing.Google Scholar
Lopes, A., J. P., Albuquerque, M., H., Silva, R., Y. & Shrimpton, R. (1980). Aspectos nutritivos de alguns frutos da Amazônia. Acta Amazonica, 10, 755–8.Google Scholar
Miller, M. F. (1994). Large African herbivores, bruchid beetles and their interactions with Acacia seeds. Oecologia, 97, 265–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, M. F. & Coe, M. (1993). Is it advantageous for Acacia seeds to be eaten by ungulates?Oikos, 66, 364–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moegenburg, S. M. (2002). Harvest and management of forest fruits by humans: implications for fruit‐frugivore interactions. In Frugivory and Seed Dispersal: Ecological, Evolutionary and Conservation Issues, ed. Levey, D., Galetti, M. & Silva, W.. Oxford: CAB International Publishing, pp. 479–94.Google Scholar
Munzbergova, Z. & Ward, D. (2002). Acacia trees as keystone species in Negev desert ecosystems. Journal of Vegetation Science, 13, 227–36.Google Scholar
Murray, M. G. (1984). The 24 species of grazing antelope. In The Encyclopedia of Mammals: 2, ed. Macdonald, D. W.. London: George Allen and Unwin, pp. 570–1.Google Scholar
Mwalyosi, R. B. B. (1990). The dynamic ecology of Acacia tortilis woodlands in Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology, 33, 64–70.Google Scholar
Or, K. & Ward, D. (2003). Three‐way interactions between Acacia, large mammalian herbivores and bruchid beetles – a review. African Journal of Ecology, 41, 257–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen‐Smith, R. N. (2002). Adaptive Herbivore Ecology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parra, R. (1978). Comparison of foregut and hindgut fermentation in herbivores. In The Ecology of Arboreal Folivores, ed. Montgomery, G. G.. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 205–29.Google Scholar
Parrish, J. T. (1987). Global palaeogeography and palaeoclimate of the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary. In The Origins of Angiosperms and their Biological Consequences, ed. Friis, E. M., Chaloner, W. G. & Crane, P. R.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 51–73.Google Scholar
Peres, C. A. (2000). Evaluating the impact and sustainability of subsistence hunting at multiple Amazonian forest sites. In Hunting for Sustainability in Tropical Forests, ed. Robinson, J. G. & Bennett, E. L.. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 31–56.Google Scholar
Peres, C. A. & van Roosmalen, M. G. M. (2002). Patterns of primate frugivory in Amazonia and the Guianan shield: implications to the demography of large‐seeded plants in overhunted forests. In Frugivory and Seed Dispersal: Ecological, Evolutionary and Conservation Issues, ed. Levey, D., Galetti, M. & Silva, W.. Oxford: CAB International Publishing, pp. 407–21.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. G. & Bennett, E. L. (2000). Hunting for Sustainability in Tropical Forests. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Rohner, C. & Ward, D. (1997). Chemical and mechanical defense against herbivory in two sympatric species of desert Acacia. Journal of Vegetation Science, 8, 717–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rohner, C. & Ward, D. (1999). Large mammalian herbivores and the conservation of arid Acacia stands in the Middle East. Conservation Biology, 13, 1162–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scholes, R. J. & Walker, B. H. (1993). An African Savanna: Synthesis of the Nylsvley Study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shrestha, M. K., Golan‐Goldhirsh, A. & Ward, D. (2002). Population genetic structure in isolated populations of Acacia raddiana investigated by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Biological Conservation, 108, 119–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sinclair, A. R. E. & Arcese, P. (1995). Serengeti II: Dynamics, Management, and Conservation of an Ecosystem. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Smythe, N. (1970). Relationships between fruiting seasons and seed dispersal methods in a neotropical forest. American Naturalist, 104, 25–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smythe, N., Glanz, W. E. & Leigh, E. G. (1982). Population regulation in some terrestrial frugivores. In The Ecology of a Tropical Forest: Seasonal Rhythms and Long‐term Changes, Leigh, ed. E. G., Rand, A. S. & Windsor, D. M.. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 227–38.Google Scholar
Sowls, L. K. (1984). The Peccaries. Tucson, Arizona: The University of Arizona Press.Google Scholar
Sowls, L. K. (1997). Javelinas and other Peccaries: Their Biology, Management, and Use. College Station, Texas: Texas A & M University Press.Google Scholar
Stephens, D. W. & Krebs, J. R. (1986). Foraging Theory. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Stevens, C. V. (1988). Comparative Physiology of the Vertebrate Digestive System. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tabarelli, M. & Peres, C. A. (2002). Abiotic and vertebrate seed dispersal in the Brazilian Atlantic forest: implications for forest regeneration. Biological Conservation, 106, 165–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, M. A. (1990). Two dietary developments. Nature, 346, 14–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Terborgh, J. (1983). Five New World Primates: A Study in Comparative Ecology. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Terborgh, J. (1986). Community aspects of frugivory in tropical forests. In Frugivores and Seed Dispersal, ed. Estrada, A. & Fleming, T. H.. Dordrecht: Dr. W. Junk Pub., pp. 371–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soest, P. J. (1982). Nutritional Ecology of the Ruminant. Corvallis, Oregon: O & B Books Inc.Google Scholar
Ward, D. & Rohner, C. (1997). Anthropogenic causes of high mortality and low recruitment in three Acacia tree taxa in the Negev desert, Israel. Biodiversity and Conservation, 6, 877–93.CrossRef
Ward, D. & Young, T. P. (2002). Effects of large mammalian herbivores and ant symbionts on condensed tannins of Acacia drepanolobium in Kenya. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 28, 913–29.Google ScholarPubMed
Wing, S. L. & Tiffney, B. H. (1987). Interactions of angiosperms and herbivorous tetrapods through time. In The Origins of Angiosperms and their Biological Consequences, ed. Friis, E. M., Chaloner, W. G. & Crane, P. R.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 203–24.Google Scholar
Wiegand, K., Jeltsch, F. & Ward, D. (1999). Analysis of the population dynamics of Acacia trees in the Negev desert, Israel with a spatially explicit computer simulation model. Ecological Modeling, 117, 203–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfe, J. A. (1985). Distribution of major vegetational types during the Tertiary. Geophysical Monograph, 32, 357–75.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×