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Fruit resource tracking by hornbill species at multiple scales in a tropical forest in India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 September 2015

Rohit Naniwadekar ,
Charudutt Mishra  and
Aparajita Datta
Rohit Naniwadekar
Affiliation:
Nature Conservation Foundation, 3076/5, IV Cross, Gokulam Park, Mysore – 570002, Karnataka, India Manipal University, Manipal – 576104, Karnataka, India
Charudutt Mishra
Affiliation:
Nature Conservation Foundation, 3076/5, IV Cross, Gokulam Park, Mysore – 570002, Karnataka, India Snow Leopard Trust, 4649, Sunnyside Ave N, Suite 325, Seattle, WA 98103, USA
Aparajita Datta*
Affiliation:
Nature Conservation Foundation, 3076/5, IV Cross, Gokulam Park, Mysore – 570002, Karnataka, India
*
1 Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract:

The fruit-tracking hypothesis predicts a positive association between frugivores and fruit abundance over space and time. We documented hornbill diets and examined the relationship between fruit abundance and abundance of three hornbill species (Buceros bicornis, Rhyticeros undulatus and Aceros nipalensis) in the Eastern Himalaya from 2009–2012. The study was carried out at three scales: at the largest scale of the study area (15 km2), at the intermediate scale – eight 3-ha patches within the study area and at the smallest scale of individual fruiting trees. Ninety-one per cent of the 64 foraging sightings of the great hornbill were on figs while more than 50% of the foraging sightings of the wreathed (83) and rufous-necked hornbills (87) were on non-fig fruits. At the largest scale, wreathed hornbill abundance and ripe fruit abundance peaked in the non-breeding season. At the intermediate scale, wreathed hornbill abundance was positively associated with non-fig fruit availability while rufous-necked hornbill abundance was negatively associated with non-fig fruit availability. At the smallest scale, great and rufous-necked hornbill abundances were correlated with fig and non-fig fruit crop sizes, respectively. The three hornbill species track fruit availability at different scales based on diet, which has implications for their role in seed dispersal.

Keywords

Aceros nipalensisArunachal PradeshBuceros bicornisEastern Himalayafrugivoryfruit abundancefruit crop sizenorth-east IndiaRhyticeros undulatus
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 31 , Issue 6 , November 2015 , pp. 477 - 490
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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