SynthesisAnnals of botany2021
Frugivory and seed dispersal in a hyperdiverse plant clade and its role as a keystone resource for the Neotropical fauna.
Synthesis in Annals of botany, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The evolutionary ecology of bird-ant interactions: a pervasive but under-studied connection.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Pooled it
- Genetic diversity and conservation of a rare Miconia species (Melastomataceae) from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.Genetica · 2026Article
- Exploring Bioactive Polysaccharides in Edible Fruits: A Cross-Biome Perspective.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Functional connectivity of animal-dispersed plant communities depends on the interacting effects of network specialization and resource diversity.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Ecological function maintained despite mesomammal declines.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- The evolution of ecological specialization underlies plant endemism in the Atlantic Forest.Annals of botany · 2023Article
- Phenological responses to climate change based on a hundred years of herbarium collections of tropical Melastomataceae.PloS one · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsMuch of our understanding of the ecology and evolution of seed dispersal in the Neotropics is founded on studies involving the animal-dispersed, hyperdiverse plant clade Miconia (Melastomataceae). Nonetheless, no formal attempt has been made to establish its relevance as a model system or indeed provide evidence of the role of frugivores as Miconia seed dispersers.
methodsWe built three Miconia databases (fruit phenology/diaspore traits, fruit-frugivore interactions and effects on seed germination after gut passage) to determine how Miconia fruiting phenology and fruit traits for >350 species interact with and shape patterns of frugivore selection. In addition, we conducted a meta-analysis evaluating the effects of animal gut passage/seed handling on Miconia germination. KEY
resultsMiconia produce numerous small berries that enclose numerous tiny seeds within water- and sugar-rich pulps. In addition, coexisting species provide sequential, year long availability of fruits within communities, with many species producing fruits in periods of resource scarcity. From 2396 pairwise interactions, we identified 646 animal frugivore species in five classes, 22 orders and 60 families, including birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and ants that consume Miconia fruits. Endozoochory is the main dispersal mechanism, but gut passage effects on germination were specific to animal clades; birds, monkeys and ants reduced seed germination percentages, while opossums increased it.
conclusionsThe sequential fruiting phenologies and wide taxonomic and functional diversity of animal vectors associated with Miconia fruits underscore the likely keystone role that this plant clade plays in the Neotropics. By producing fruits morphologically and chemically accessible to a variety of animals, Miconia species ensure short- and long-distance seed dispersal and constitute reliable resources that sustain entire frugivore assemblages.
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