Cecropia as a food resource for bats in French Guiana and the significance of fruit structure in seed dispersal and longevity

Cecropia (Cecropiaceae) is a Neotropical genus of pioneer plants. A review of bat/plant dispersal interactions revealed that 15 species of Cecropia are consumed by 32 species of bats. In French Guiana, bats were captured in primary and secondary forests, yielding 936 fecal samples with diaspores, am...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of botany 2003-03, Vol.90 (3), p.388-403
Main Authors: Lobova, T.A, Mori, S.A, Blanchard, F, Peckham, H, Charles-Dominique, P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
bat dispersal
Bats
buried seeds
Cecropia
Cecropiaceae
Chiroptera
Digestive tract
Feces
feeding preferences
Flowers & plants
Food
French Guiana
fruit anatomy
fruit dispersal
fruit morphology
Fruits
fruits (plant anatomy)
mucilage
Neotropical bats
Old growth forests
Pericarp
plant morphology
Plants
Secondary forests
seed dispersal
seed germination
Seeds
soil seed bank
Soil seed banks
Tropical Biology
tropical forests
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Summary:Cecropia (Cecropiaceae) is a Neotropical genus of pioneer plants. A review of bat/plant dispersal interactions revealed that 15 species of Cecropia are consumed by 32 species of bats. In French Guiana, bats were captured in primary and secondary forests, yielding 936 fecal samples with diaspores, among which 162 contained fruits of C. obtusa, C. palmata, and C. sciadophylla. A comparative morphological and anatomical study of fruits and seeds taken directly from herbarium specimens, bat feces, and an experimental soil seed bank was made. Contrary to previous reports, the dispersal unit of Cecropia is the fruit not the seed. Bats consume the infructescence, digest pulp derived from the enlarged, fleshy perianth, and defecate the fruits. The mucilaginous pericarp of Cecropia is described. The external mucilage production of Cecropia may facilitate endozoochory. The exocarp and part of the mesocarp may be lost after passage through the digestive tract of bats, but fruits buried for a year in the soil seed bank remain structurally unchanged. Fruit characters were found to be useful for identifying species of bat-dispersed Cecropia. Bat dispersal is not necessary for seed germination but it increases seed survival and subsequent germination. Fruit structure plays a significant role in seed longevity.
ISSN:0002-9122
1537-2197
DOI:10.3732/ajb.90.3.388