| Grant number: | 09/17577-3 |
| Support Opportunities: | Regular Research Grants |
| Start date: | April 01, 2010 |
| End date: | November 30, 2011 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology |
| Principal Investigator: | Marco Aurelio Pizo Ferreira |
| Grantee: | Marco Aurelio Pizo Ferreira |
| Host Institution: | Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil |
Abstract
The main goal of this project is to evaluate the importance of Manacus manacus (Pipridae), a small frugivorous forest bird, to the seed dispersal in restingas, a threatened Brazilian ecosystem. Manacus manacus is a common species in more preserved restinga fragments. This species has courtship areas with high concentration of males that exhibit to females year around. The females visit these "display grounds" or "lek" areas, build the nests and take care of nestlings alone. According to our hypothesis, males have smaller home ranges than females, and contribute more to the deposition of seeds through regurgitation and defecation in lek areas. Females and immature males not yet established in lek areas likely contribute more than males to the long distance dispersal of seeds due to their higher mobility and larger home range. Its diversified fruit diet associated to its capacity of swallowing whole fruits of a wide range of sizes likely contributes to the quality of this species as effective seed disperser. In the present project, the frugivory and natural history of M. manacus will be related to its potential as seed disperser of restinga plants. Additionally, we will compare the contribution of males, females and immature individuals to the seed dispersal process. (AU)
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