期刊
ECOLOGY
卷 97, 期 11, 页码 3110-3118出版社
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1565
关键词
animal movement; Cape Floristic Region; Cape Sugarbird; flower constancy; foraging preference; frequency-dependent foraging; pollination; Proteaceae; step selection functions
类别
资金
- German Research Foundation [SCHL 1934/1-1, SCHU 2259/3-1]
- research funding programme LOEWE-Landes-Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-okono-mischer Exzellenz of Hesse's Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and the Arts
- Robert Bosch Foundation
Animal pollinators mediate reproduction of many plant species. Foraging theory suggests that animal pollinators exhibit preferences for common plant species in natural communities (positive frequency-dependent foraging) and temporary single-species specialization (flower constancy) during foraging bouts. Positive frequency dependence may favor common plant species; flower constancy may enhance conspecific pollen transfer particularly in rare plant species. Previous experimental studies suggest that avian pollinators are unlikely to exhibit these behaviors. We studied foraging behavior of Cape Sugarbirds (Promerops cafer), the main avian pollinator of many Protea species, using focal-plant and focal-bird sampling, assisted by high-resolution maps of the spatiotemporal distribution of Protea individuals and their flowering status. We found that Sugarbird's visitation preference increased with species' relative floral abundance, and that individual Sugarbirds tended to visit single species in sequence. Flower constancy during foraging bouts was significantly higher than expected from random plant-animal encounters at the scale of pollinator movements. Positive frequency dependence may favor the reproduction of abundant plant species while flower constancy may be particularly important for rare plant species. This first simultaneous study of both behaviors in a natural plant-pollinator system shows that bird pollinators exhibit both types of behavior and, in this way, possibly influence plant community structure.
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