Habitat and phylogeny, but not morphology, are linked to fruit consumption in the most ecologically diverse bird family, the Furnariidae

CATAUDELA, J. FRANCISCO; PALACIO, FACUNDO X.

EMU

CSIRO PUBLISHING

Lugar: Collingwood; Año: 2021 vol. 121 p. 340 - 347

0158-4197

The Furnariidae (Ovenbirds and Woodcreepers) are the most ecologically diverse family of passerines, occupying almost all terrestrial habitats across the Neotropics. Despite their high species diversity, their diet is mainly composed of insects and other arthropods. Occasionally, furnariids consume fleshy fruits. However, the extent and drivers of frugivory in the Furnariidae remains still poorly studied. We performed a systematic review on fruit consumption in the family and assessed whether frugivory was related to morphology (body mass, bill length, width and depth) and feeding habitat type (forests, savannas, shrublands, grasslands, wetlands, rocky areas, coastlines, and artificial ?terrestrial? landscapesterrestrial vs aquatic habitat) accounting for phylogenetic history among species. We recorded 910 fruit-bird interactions between 332 bird and 38 plant species, accounting for 10.85% of the 304 species in the family. The probability of Ffruit consumption showed a strong phylogenetic signal, and but was positively related neither to morphology nor feeding to artificial ?terrestrial? landscapes habitat after accounting for phylogenybut not to morphology. Our results show that frugivory in the Furnariidae may be more common than previously thought, at least in certain genera (e.g., Asthenes, Pseudoseisura, Furnarius) and is partially explained by habitat type. The strong phylogenetic inertia in fruit consumption could be the result of physiological constraints linked to sugar metabolism, yet further studies are needed to test this hypothesis. It remains to be assessed the role of Ovenbirds and Woodcreepers as effective seed dispersers in the light of fruit handling behavior, gut passage and seed viability. If confirmed, seed dispersal by furnariids would represent an overlooked ecosystem service in the Neotropics.