Fruit production in tropical forests varies considerably in space and time, with important implications for frugivorous consumers. Characterizing temporal variation in forest productivity is thus critical for understanding adaptations of tropical forest frugivores, yet long‐term phenology data from the tropics, in particular from African forests, are still scarce. Similarly, as the abiotic factors driving phenology in the tropics are predicted to change with a warming climate, studies documenting the relationship between climatic variables and fruit production are increasingly important. Here, we present data from 19 years of monitoring the phenology of 20 tree species at Ngogo in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Our aims were to characterize short‐ and long‐term trends in productivity and to understand the abiotic factors driving temporal variability in fruit production. Short‐term (month‐to‐month) variability in fruiting was relatively low at Ngogo, and overall fruit production increased significantly through the first half of the study. Among the abiotic variables, we expected to influence phenology patterns (including rainfall, solar irradiance, and average temperature), only average temperature was a significant predictor of monthly fruit production. We discuss these findings as they relate to the resource base of the frugivorous vertebrate community inhabiting Ngogo.

中文翻译：

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乌干达基巴莱国家公园 Ngogo 热带森林水果产量的长期趋势


热带森林的水果生产在空间和时间上差异很大，对果食消费者具有重要影响。因此，表征森林生产力的时间变化对于了解热带森林食果动物的适应至关重要，但热带地区，特别是非洲森林的长期物候数据仍然很少。同样，由于预计驱动热带物候的非生物因素会随着气候变暖而发生变化，记录气候变量与水果产量之间关系的研究也变得越来越重要。在这里，我们展示了 19 年监测乌干达基巴莱国家公园 Ngogo 20 种树种物候的数据。我们的目标是描绘生产力的短期和长期趋势，并了解驱动水果生产时间变化的非生物因素。 Ngogo 结果的短期（逐月）变异性相对较低，并且在研究的前半段，总体水果产量显着增加。在非生物变量中，我们预计会影响物候模式（包括降雨量、太阳辐照度和平均温度），只有平均温度是每月水果产量的重要预测因子。我们讨论这些发现，因为它们与居住在 Ngogo 的食果脊椎动物群落的资源基础有关。