Variação morfológica e química dos frutos na escolha dos animais frugívoros da Mata Atlântica
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Data
2008-01-29
Autores
Cazetta, Eliana [UNESP]
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Editor
Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Resumo
As características dos frutos como morfologia e química têm sido tradicionalmente explicadas como resultado da seleção dos dispersores de sementes. Mas a importância dos frugívoros em moldar as características dos frutos tem sido recentemente questionada sob diferentes perspectivas. Alguns estudos sugerem que outras interações podem simultaneamente atuar sobre a evolução das características dos frutos. Muitos organismos atuam como predadores de sementes e seus efeitos precisam ser considerados. Desta maneira, as plantas enfrentam um dilema evolutivo entre atração aos legítimos dispersores de sementes e defesa contra predadores e patógenos. Neste estudo, primeiramente nós avaliamos as características dos frutos relacionadas com atração e defesa em uma ampla amostra de frutos da Mata Atlântica, da Ilha do Cardoso, São Paulo, Brasil. Posteriormente, nós testamos como algumas características específicas influenciam o consumo pelas aves frugívoras. Nós observamos que as características morfológicas e químicas dos frutos apresentam sinal filogenético e em geral padrões independentes de co-variação. Ao contrário, as cores e os contrates dos frutos não apresentam sinal filogenético e frutos mais saturados são ricos em lipídeos e energia mas pobres em carboidratos. Portanto, nós sugerimos que o grau de saturação da cor pode indicar a qualidade nutricional dos frutos. As aves detectaram consistentemente frutos com maior contraste cromático do que o contraste acromático. Além disso, as aves frugívoras selecionam frutos ricos em lipídeos e energia e pobres em compostos secundários. Nós concluímos que a preferência das aves por determinadas características dos frutos não afeta necessariamente a evolução das mesmas, uma vez que, para isso ocorrer é necessário que as aves selecionem entre indivíduos...
Fruit characteristics such as morphology and chemistry have traditionally been explained as the result of adaptations to their seed dispersers. But the importance of frugivores in shaping fruit traits has now been questioned from a number of perspectives. Some studies suggested that other interactions simultaneously shape the evolution of fruit traits. Many organisms act as seed predators and their effects must be taken into account. Therefore, plants are faced with an evolutionary dilemma between attraction to legitimate seed dispersers and defense against seed predators and pathogens. In this study we focused on fruit traits related to attractiveness and defense. We first evaluated how fruit characteristics interact in a broad sample of Atlantic rainforest species, at Cardoso Island, São Paulo, Brazil, after accounting for phylogeny. We then evaluated specific fruit characteristics to test whether they influence consumption by birds. We found that morphological and nutritional traits showed phylogenetic signal and in general independent patterns of covariation. On the contrary, fruit color and contrast did not present phylogenetic signal and saturated fruits are rich in energy and lipids, and poor in carbohydrates. Thus we suggest that saturated fruits may indicate fruit quality. Birds consistently detected fruits with higher chromatic contrasts rather than achromatic ones. Frugivorous birds also selected lipid and energyrich fruits and fruits low defended by secondary compounds. We conclude that in spite of bird’s preferences these processes do not operate on the evolution of fruit traits, since this requires birds to differentiate between plant individual of the same and not different species. Therefore, in our study we observed that fruit traits are in general weak associate, with the exception of fruit color, that may indicate fruit adaptation to frugivores.
Fruit characteristics such as morphology and chemistry have traditionally been explained as the result of adaptations to their seed dispersers. But the importance of frugivores in shaping fruit traits has now been questioned from a number of perspectives. Some studies suggested that other interactions simultaneously shape the evolution of fruit traits. Many organisms act as seed predators and their effects must be taken into account. Therefore, plants are faced with an evolutionary dilemma between attraction to legitimate seed dispersers and defense against seed predators and pathogens. In this study we focused on fruit traits related to attractiveness and defense. We first evaluated how fruit characteristics interact in a broad sample of Atlantic rainforest species, at Cardoso Island, São Paulo, Brazil, after accounting for phylogeny. We then evaluated specific fruit characteristics to test whether they influence consumption by birds. We found that morphological and nutritional traits showed phylogenetic signal and in general independent patterns of covariation. On the contrary, fruit color and contrast did not present phylogenetic signal and saturated fruits are rich in energy and lipids, and poor in carbohydrates. Thus we suggest that saturated fruits may indicate fruit quality. Birds consistently detected fruits with higher chromatic contrasts rather than achromatic ones. Frugivorous birds also selected lipid and energyrich fruits and fruits low defended by secondary compounds. We conclude that in spite of bird’s preferences these processes do not operate on the evolution of fruit traits, since this requires birds to differentiate between plant individual of the same and not different species. Therefore, in our study we observed that fruit traits are in general weak associate, with the exception of fruit color, that may indicate fruit adaptation to frugivores.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Sementes, Frugivoria, Dispersão de sementes, Fruit, Seed
Como citar
CAZETTA, Eliana. Variação morfológica e química dos frutos na escolha dos animais frugívoros da Mata Atlântica. 2008. 107 f. Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual Paulista, Instituto de Biociências de Rio Claro, 2008.