Frugivory and seed dispersal: ecological and evolutionary aspects

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

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2. Historical and theoretical aspects of frugivory and seed dispersal

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-2

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   2. Specialized and generalized dispersal systems: where does ‘the paradigm’ stand?

      • Henry F. Howe

      Pages 3-13

   3. Quantity, quality and the effectiveness of seed dispersal by animals

      • Eugene W. Schupp

      Pages 15-29

   4. The population-dynamic functions of seed dispersal

      • D. L. Venable, J. S. Brown

      Pages 31-55

   5. Consumption of fruits of the Melastomataceae by birds: how diffuse is coevolution?

      • F. Gary Stiles, Loreta Rosselli

      Pages 57-73

   6. Speciation and coevolution: an interpretation of frugivory phenomena

      • P. Charles-Dominique

      Pages 75-84

   7. Geographical ecology and variation of plant-seed disperser interactions: southern Spanish junipers and frugivorous thrushes

      • Pedro Jordano

      Pages 85-104

3. Plant strategies

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 105-106

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   2. Opportunism vs. specialization: the evolution of dispersal strategies in fleshy-fruited plants

      • T. H. Fleming, D. L. Venable, L. G. Herrera M.

      Pages 107-120

   3. Consequences for seed distributions of intra-crop variation in wing-loading of wind-dispersed species

      • Carol K. Augspurger, Susan E. Franson

      Pages 121-132

   4. Evolutionary ecology of mast-seeding in temperate and tropical oaks (Quercus spp.)

      • V. L. Sork

      Pages 133-147

   5. Aspects of variation in a neotropical seed dispersal system

      • Henry F. Howe

      Pages 149-162

   6. Fruit size in a tropical tree species: variation, preference by birds, and heritability

      • Nathaniel T. Wheelwright

      Pages 163-174

4. Frugivore strategies

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 175-176

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   2. Spatial distribution of understory fruit-eating birds and fruiting plants in a neotropical lowland wet forest

      • Bette A. Loiselle, John G. Blake

      Pages 177-189

   3. Weak interactions between avian and insect frugivores: the case of Pistacia terebinthus L. (Anacardiaceae)

      • A. Traveset

      Pages 191-203

   4. Ecological and behavioral consequences of digestion in frugivorous animals

      • Carlos Martínez del Rio, Carla Restrepo

      Pages 205-216

   5. The influence of seed packaging and fruit color on feeding preferences of American robins

      • K. G. Murray, K. Winnett-Murray, E. A. Cromie, M. Minor, E. Meyers

      Pages 217-226

   6. The influence of pulp lipids on fruit preference by birds

      • E. W. Stiles

      Pages 227-235

Any scientific discipline needs a theoretical framework to guide its development and to sharpen the questions its researchers pursue. In biology, evolution is the grand theoretical framework, and an his­ torical perspective is necessary to understand present-day biological conditions. In its formative years, the modern study of the fruit-frugivore mutualism was guided by the 'specialist-generalist' paradigm developed by D. Snow, D. McKey, and H. Howe. Howe reviews the current status of this evolution­ ary paradigm and points out that it has been dismissed by many workers before being adequately tested. This is because ecologists working with the tropical plants and frugivorous birds for which the paradigm was originally developed rarely measure the seed dispersal effectiveness of different disperser species. He indicates that this paradigm still has heuristic value and suggests that several additional ecological paradigms, including the concept ofkeystone species ofplants and frugivores and the role that frugivores play in density-dependent mortality in tropical trees, are worth studying. The concept of seed dispersal quality has been central to discussions of fruit-frugivore coevolution. Schupp thoroughly reviews data bearing on this concept, constructs a hierarchical framework for viewing disperser effectiveness, and points out that disperser effectiveness depends on both the quantity and quality of seed dispersal. Effectiveness, in turn, affects both evolutionary and ecological relationships between dispersers and their food plants.

• Coevolution
• Ecology
• Seed
• Wind
• ecosystem
• ecosystems
• evolution
• fruit
• Tree Biology

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