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Diet selection is related to breeding status in two frugivorous hornbill species of Central Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2014

Aaron M. Lamperti ,
Aaron R. French ,
Ellen S. Dierenfeld ,
Mark K. Fogiel ,
Kenneth D. Whitney ,
Donald J. Stauffer ,
Kimberly M. Holbrook ,
Britta D. Hardesty ,
Connie J. Clark  and
John R. Poulsen
...Show all authors
Aaron M. Lamperti*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
Aaron R. French
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
Ellen S. Dierenfeld*
Affiliation:
Department of Wildlife Nutrition, Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY 10460, USA
Mark K. Fogiel
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
Kenneth D. Whitney*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
Donald J. Stauffer
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
Kimberly M. Holbrook
Affiliation:
The Nature Conservancy 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100 Arlington, VA 22203, USA
Britta D. Hardesty*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
Connie J. Clark*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
John R. Poulsen*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
Benjamin C. Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
Thomas B. Smith*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
V. Thomas Parker
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA
*
1Corresponding author. Current address: 557 New Boston Road, Norwich, Vermont 05055, USA. Email: [email protected]
24736 Gatesbury Drive, St. Louis, MO 63128, USA
3Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USA
4CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship, Marine and Atmospheric Research, Hobart, TAS 7000, Australia
5Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, PO Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, USA
5Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, PO Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, USA
6Center for Tropical Research and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Box 951496, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1496, USA
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Abstract:

Avian diet selection is hypothesized to be sensitive to seasonal changes in breeding status, but few tests exist for frugivorous tropical birds. Frugivorous birds provide an interesting test case because fruits are relatively deficient in minerals critical for reproduction. Here, we quantify annual patterns of fruit availability and diet for two frugivorous hornbill (Bucerotidae) species over a 5.5-y period to test for patterns of diet selection. Data from the lowland tropical rain forest of the Dja Reserve, Cameroon, are used to generate two nutritional indices. One index estimates the nutrient concentration of the diet chosen by Ceratogymna atrata and Bycanistes albotibialis on a monthly basis using 3165 feeding observations combined with fruit pulp sample data. The second index is an estimate of nutrient concentration of a non-selective or neutral diet across the study area based on tree fruiting phenology, vegetation survey and fruit-pulp sample data. Fifty-nine fruit pulp samples representing 40 species were analysed for 16 nutrient categories to contribute to both indices. Pulp samples accounted for approximately 75% of the observed diets. The results support expected patterns of nutrient selection. The two hornbill species selected a diet rich in calcium during the early breeding season (significantly so for B. albotibialis in July and August). Through the brooding and fledging periods, they switched from a calcium-rich diet to one rich in iron and caloric content as well as supplemental protein in the form of invertebrates. Calcium, the calcium to phosphorus ratio and fat concentration were the strongest predictors of breeding success (significant for calcium and Ca:P for B. albotibialis in June). We conclude that hornbills actively select fruit based on nutritional concentration and mineral concentration and that the indices developed here are useful for assessing frugivore diet over time.

Keywords

avianCameroonDja Reservefrugivorymineral nutritionnutrition
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , July 2014 , pp. 273 - 290
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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References

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