Fleshy fruit characteristics in a temperate deciduous forest of Japan: how unique are they?

J Plant Res. 2012 Jan;125(1):103-14. doi: 10.1007/s10265-011-0423-0. Epub 2011 Apr 30.

Abstract

This study investigated the fleshy fruit characteristics of 28 woody species in a Japanese temperate forest where large sedentary seed-dispersing mammals are present. We tested whether the findings in previous studies in temperate forests of Europe and North America are universal or not. Results have suggested that fruits of all species were eaten both by birds and mammals except for four species with larger fruits, which were eaten only by mammals. A gradient was found from a syndrome characterized by small, oily, and large-seeded fruits to a syndrome characterized by large, succulent, non-oily, and small-seeded fruits. The sizes and colors of the fruits were not conspicuously different from previous findings in Europe and North America. On the other hand, nitrogen and lipids in the fleshy part did not show seasonally increasing trends, or even seasonally decreasing trends in terms of dry weight. This result, suggesting the absence of community-level adaptation of fruit traits to migratory bird dispersers, contrasted with findings in Europe and North America. Large sedentary arboreal or tree-climbing mammals may have a greater effect on the evolution of fruit-disperser relations than opportunistic migratory birds.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Ecosystem*
  • Energy Metabolism
  • Fruit / anatomy & histology
  • Fruit / metabolism*
  • Japan
  • Lipids
  • Nitrogen / metabolism
  • Organ Size
  • Phenols / metabolism
  • Seasons
  • Seeds / metabolism
  • Solubility
  • Species Specificity
  • Trees / metabolism*

Substances

  • Lipids
  • Phenols
  • Nitrogen