{"title":"Fruiting trees provide fruit and insect resources for four tropical deer species","authors":"Balram Awasthi, Jin Chen, Kim R. McConkey","doi":"10.1002/ecs2.4889","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Fruiting trees provide important fruit and seed resources for various animal species, but rarely are they considered to be rich sources of insects as well. During a study of seed dispersal of <i>Trewia nudiflora</i> (Euphorbiaceae) using camera traps in Nepal, we observed four tropical deer species (<i>Axis axis, Muntiacus vaginalis, Rusa unicolor, Axis porcinus</i>) foraging for insects, rather than fruits under the trees. These herbivorous deer are proven seed dispersers of <i>Trewia</i>, but 8%–38% of video captures (across each species) were of insectivory, rather than frugivory. The deer chased and consumed red cotton bugs (<i>Dysdercus</i> sp. family Pyrrhocoridae), which were seed predators that hoarded <i>Trewia</i> seeds. It is likely that other unidentified insect species were also consumed. Tropical deer species are considered to be fully herbivorous, so our observations extend their known diets and possibly indicate a seasonal requirement for protein. These findings also highlight tri-trophic interactions among deer, insects, and fruits that could have important implications for seedling recruitment if seed predators are being consumed by seed dispersers (in addition to fruit consumption).</p>","PeriodicalId":48930,"journal":{"name":"Ecosphere","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecs2.4889","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Ecosphere","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.4889","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Fruiting trees provide important fruit and seed resources for various animal species, but rarely are they considered to be rich sources of insects as well. During a study of seed dispersal of Trewia nudiflora (Euphorbiaceae) using camera traps in Nepal, we observed four tropical deer species (Axis axis, Muntiacus vaginalis, Rusa unicolor, Axis porcinus) foraging for insects, rather than fruits under the trees. These herbivorous deer are proven seed dispersers of Trewia, but 8%–38% of video captures (across each species) were of insectivory, rather than frugivory. The deer chased and consumed red cotton bugs (Dysdercus sp. family Pyrrhocoridae), which were seed predators that hoarded Trewia seeds. It is likely that other unidentified insect species were also consumed. Tropical deer species are considered to be fully herbivorous, so our observations extend their known diets and possibly indicate a seasonal requirement for protein. These findings also highlight tri-trophic interactions among deer, insects, and fruits that could have important implications for seedling recruitment if seed predators are being consumed by seed dispersers (in addition to fruit consumption).
期刊介绍:
The scope of Ecosphere is as broad as the science of ecology itself. The journal welcomes submissions from all sub-disciplines of ecological science, as well as interdisciplinary studies relating to ecology. The journal''s goal is to provide a rapid-publication, online-only, open-access alternative to ESA''s other journals, while maintaining the rigorous standards of peer review for which ESA publications are renowned.