ABSTRACT

Ectophylla alba almost exclusively feeds on the fruits of Ficus colubrinae therefore significantly contributing to dispersal of its seeds. The objective of this research was to quantify the fruit removal of F. colubrinae by E. alba and compare it with that of birds in a F. colubrinae tree at the La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. We established seven quadrats randomly at different heights of the tree. We took photographs of each quadrat, quantified the fruits in each photograph, and compared the number of fruits removed during periods of high and low activity. The on-site persistence time of birds (9:05 min) was higher than that of E. alba (0.32 s). Birds removed more fruits (46) than E. alba (41). Birds defecated on site more times (13.08 feces per day) than E. alba (7.5 feces per day). Thus, E. alba is a more important seed disperser of F. colubrinae than are birds, because it persisted a short time at the feeding site, and consumed food beyond the individual trees’ canopies. Most importantly, by defecating during flight or away from the fruiting tree, E. alba disperse seeds some distance from the F. colubrinae tree, thereby contributes more effectively toward seed dispersal.

摘要

Ectophylla alba几乎完全以Ficus colubrinae的果实为食，因此极大地促进了其种子的传播。本研究的目的是量化E. alba对F. colubrinae果实的去除，并将其与哥斯达黎加 La Selva 生物站的F. colubrinae树中的鸟类进行比较。我们在树的不同高度随机建立了七个样方。我们拍摄了每个样方的照片，量化了每张照片中的果实，并比较了在高活动和低活动期间移除的果实数量。鸟类的现场停留时间（9:05 分钟）高于E. alba（0.32 秒）。鸟类移除的水果 (46) 多于E. alba (41)。鸟类在现场排便的次数（每天 13.08 次）多于E. alba（每天 7.5 次）。因此，E. alba是比鸟类更重要的F. colubrinae种子传播者，因为它在觅食地点停留的时间很短，并且消耗的食物超出了个别树木的树冠。最重要的是，通过在飞行期间或远离果树时排便，E. alba将种子散布到离F. colubrinae树一定距离的地方，从而更有效地促进种子传播。