T, Ganesh and Davidar, Priya (1999) Fruit biomass and relative abundance of frugivores in a rain forest of southern Western Ghats, India. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 15 (4). pp. 399-413. ISSN 0266-4674

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Abstract

Fruit biomass and frugivore abundance were quantified over 3 y in a rain forest of the south Western Ghats, India. Fruit biomass was estimated by sampling fruit fall in the primary forest, and frugivore abundance by a 2.5-km transect. A total of 645 kg ha −1 of fruit was produced annually in the forest. Only 49% of this is edible to the frugivores and the remaining 51% is in the form of non-edible husks. Mammalian frugivores outnumbered avian frugivores and the majority of the mammals were seed predators. The total fruit biomass produced at Kakachi is lower than in the lowland forest and mountain forests in the neotropics but higher than in the wet sclerophyll forest of Australia. Lower diversity of trees and edaphic factors at Kakachi could be some of the reasons for these differences. On the other hand, paucity of fleshy fruits, low density of trees producing fleshy fruits and irregular fruiting of these species, account for the low number of obligate avian frugivores at Kakachi.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Copyright of this article belongs to the Cambridge University Press
Uncontrolled Keywords: fruit biomass, frugivores, relative abundance, seed predators, West- ern Ghats, wet forests
Subjects: A ATREE Publications > G Journal Papers
Divisions: SM Sehgal Foundation Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation > Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation Planning
Depositing User: ATREE Bangalore
Date Deposited: 17 Dec 2024 09:37
Last Modified: 17 Dec 2024 09:37
URI: http://archives.atree.org/id/eprint/352

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