Hello everybody!
Fallback fruits are fruits of low nutritional value that in periods of fruit scarcity become the filler or staple of a frugivorous animal. Fallbacks seem to be well-studied in primates but not so much in birds. While it has been identified that birds, during periods of fruit scarcity, may feed on unripe fruits (Foster, 1977), insects (Carnicer et al., 2009) or even mimetic seeds/fruits (Pizo et al., 2020), the term "fallback fruits" is not usually used in relation to birds. Can anyone refer me to studies that deal with fallback/alternative diets of avian frugivores?
Thank you,
Marie
Nutrients in fruits as determinants of resource tracking by birds
IBIS Volume157, Issue3 July 2015
Pedro G. Blendinger Norberto P. Giannini Iris C. Zampini Roxana Ordoñez Sebastián Torres Jorge E. Sayago Román A. Ruggera María Inés Isla
Fruit pulp is an important source of nutrients for many bird species. Fruit‐eating birds use a variety of strategies to cope with changes in the availability of fruits, exhibiting a remarkable ability to track resources. We assessed the role of nutrient availability in the fruiting environment as a factor driving resource tracking by fruit‐eating birds. Fruit consumption by the four most common frugivorous species in a 6‐ha plot in the Southern Yungas montane forest of Argentina was assessed. We determined the content of selected nutrients (soluble carbohydrates, proteins, phenols, ascorbic acid and essential minerals) in 22 fruiting plant species eaten by birds, and measured fruit–frugivore interactions and the availability of nutrients and dry fruit pulp mass over 2 years. There was strong temporal covariation in the availability of the selected nutrients in fruits across the study period. Similarly, the availability of nutrients in the fruiting environment covaried with pulp mass. Fruit consumption by the four commonest bird species and the abundance of most species were positively associated with nutrient availability and dry pulp mass. Nutrient availability was a good predictor of temporal fruit tracking by three of the four commonest frugivores. Despite large differences in particular nutrient concentrations in fruits, overall nutrient (and pulp) quantity in the fruiting environment played a greater role in fruit tracking than did the nutritional quality of individual fruits. While overall nutrient availability (i.e. across fruit) and total pulp mass were important determinants of fruit tracking, we suggest that plant species‐specific differences in fruit nutrient concentration may be important in short‐term foraging decisions involved in fruit choice and nutritional balance of birds.
Kereru in New Zealand eat smaller fruit and flowers when the large-fruited trees are not fruiting
Andrew Paul McKenzie Pegman thanks, that’s exciting! Is that a personal observation or might I be able to find it in the literature?
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