© Tomás Carlo, Penn State
Bird eating fruit
Outside of human influences, why do rare plant species persist instead of dwindling away to extinction? It's a question that has plagued ecologists for centuries. Now, for the first time, scientists at Penn State and Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Argentina, demonstrate that fruit-eating birds play an important role in maintaining rare plant species.
"We show that fruit-eating birds, just by their food-gathering behavior, help to structure the diversity of forests," said Tomás Carlo, associate professor of biology, Penn State. "This is important because higher plant diversity is associated with increased provision of ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling and the production of food and water."
According to Carlo, when birds eat fruits, they help plants to reproduce by spreading their seeds around.
"A couple years ago, I found some rare seeds in one of my seed traps in Puerto Rico, and I said to myself, 'Why are these birds eating this?" Carlo said. "This is improbable. These birds are surrounded by the fruits of common species and yet a sizable proportion of their diet includes fruits of rare species.'"
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