Sil S, Visconti F, Chaverri G, Santana S E
Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Integr Org Biol. 2024 Jul 29;6(1):obae028. doi: 10.1093/iob/obae028. eCollection 2024.
is a mega-diverse genus of pioneer plants that contributes to the maintenance and regeneration of tropical forests. In the Neotropics, bats use olfaction to forage for fruit and are a main disperser of seeds via consumption and subsequent defecation during flight. In return, fruits provide essential nutrients for year-round. There is evidence that the types and diversity of frugivores are influenced by the primary habitat type of different species (forest and gap), with forest depending more on bats for seed dispersal; however, this pattern has not been tested broadly. We aimed to characterize and compare the interactions between and across forested and gap habitats, and further investigate whether differences in fruit traits relevant to bat foraging (i.e., scent) could underlie differences in interactions. We collected nightly acoustic ultrasonic recordings and 24 h camera trap data in La Selva, Costa Rica across 12 species of (six forest, six gap) and integrated this information with data on diet and fruit scent. Merging biomonitoring modalities allowed us to characterize ecological interactions in a hierarchical manner: from general activity and presence of bats, to visitations and inspections of plants, to acquisition and consumption of fruits. We found significant differences in interactions between forested and gap habitats; however, the type of biomonitoring modality (camera trap, acoustics, diet) influenced our ability to detect these differences. Forest were exclusively visited by bats, whereas gap had a more diverse suite of frugivores; the annual diet of , however, is dominated by gap since these plants produce fruit year-round. We found evidence that fruit scent composition significantly differs between forest and gap , which highlights the possibility that bats could be using chemical cues to differentially forage for gap vs. forest . By integrating studies of fruit scent, plant visitation patterns, and diet composition, we paint a clearer picture of the ecological interactions between and , and plant-animal mutualisms more generally.
是先锋植物的一个超级多样化属，对热带森林的维持和再生有贡献。在新热带地区，蝙蝠利用嗅觉觅食水果，并且是种子的主要传播者，它们在飞行过程中食用水果并随后排便来传播种子。作为回报，水果全年为蝙蝠提供必需的营养。有证据表明，食果动物的类型和多样性受不同物种（森林和林窗）的主要栖息地类型影响，森林物种在种子传播方面更多地依赖蝙蝠；然而，这种模式尚未得到广泛验证。我们旨在描述和比较森林和林窗栖息地中[植物名称]与蝙蝠之间的相互作用，并进一步研究与蝙蝠觅食相关的果实特征（即气味）差异是否可能是[植物名称]与蝙蝠相互作用差异的基础。我们在哥斯达黎加的拉塞尔瓦，对12种[植物名称]（6种森林植物、6种林窗植物）进行了夜间声学超声波记录和24小时相机陷阱数据收集，并将这些信息与蝙蝠饮食和果实气味数据相结合。合并生物监测方式使我们能够以分层方式描述生态相互作用：从蝙蝠的一般活动和存在情况，到对植物的访问和检查，再到果实的获取和食用。我们发现森林和林窗栖息地之间[植物名称]与蝙蝠的相互作用存在显著差异；然而生物监测方式的类型（相机陷阱、声学、饮食）影响了我们检测这些差异的能力。森林[植物名称]仅被蝙蝠访问，而林窗[植物名称]有更多样化的食果动物群体；然而，[植物名称]的年度饮食主要由林窗[植物名称]主导，因为这些植物全年结果。我们发现有证据表明森林和林窗[植物名称]的果实气味成分存在显著差异，这突出了蝙蝠可能利用化学线索在林窗和森林[植物名称]之间进行差异化觅食的可能性。通过整合对[植物名称]果实气味、植物访问模式和蝙蝠饮食组成的研究，我们更清楚地描绘了[植物名称]与蝙蝠之间的生态相互作用，以及更普遍的植物 - 动物共生关系。
