Aliens will provide: response of trophic guilds and disperser birds to a new temporal resource offered by ornithocorous exotic shrubs

TOLEDO, MARTÍN; GARCÍA LOYOLA, EMILIANO M.; PELUC, SUSANA I.; VERGARA TABARES, DAVID L.

Puerto Iguazú

Congreso; Ornithological Congress of the Americas; 2017

Aves Argentinas - Association of Field Ornithologits - Sociedade Brasilerira de Ornitlogia

Frugivorous birds detect and respond positively to spatio-temporal changes in fruit availability. The fluctuation of these resources, common in temperate environments, can be modified by the naturalization of ornithocorous plants. In the mountain forest of central Argentina the exotic shrubs of the genus Pyracantha provide a new temporary resource, because they fructify in autumn-winter (asynchronously with respect to native plants). We evaluated, using point counts during five periods of the year, how the fluctuation of resources between invaded and non-invaded sites affects the abundance of bird trophic guilds and seed dispersers. A GLMM showed that the interaction between the presence of Pyracantha and time period significantly affected the abundance of frugivores (χ2 4,768 = 75.99, P