Frugivoria por aves em um mosaico de floresta estacional semidecidual e reflorestamento misto em Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brasil

Abstract

To support future forest recovery projects based on plant-animal interactions, this work aimed to evaluate the ornithochoric species and fruit consumption by birds in both a mosaic of seasonal semideciduous forest and a mixed reforested area in Rio Claro, Sao Paulo, Brazil. By monitoring and evaluating fruiting and frugivory events in focal and ad libitum sessions, 31 ornithochoric species were found that provide fruits to 38 species of frugivorous birds. In the mixed reforested area, 90.3% (n = 28) of the ornithochoric species had fruit throughout the year, while in the forest fragment this percentage was only 51.6% (n = 16), with higher temporal variations in the availability of the fruits; 65.2% (n = 1027) of fruits were consumed in the reforested area and 34.8% (n = 547) in the forest fragment. These results may be related to the smaller size of the forest fragment, which, proportionately, could determine a lower richness of plant species, and/or to the fact that abiotic dispersal tends to predominate in fragmented and disturbed sites. The mixed reforested area, although it has some exotic plant species, is ecologically more functional for birds and, due to its proximity to the fragment, apparently contributes to the maintenance of the resident and visiting bird communities of this region by providing food resources.