Pioneer trees with fleshy fruits are typically planted in restoration projects to attract frugivores as a mean to increase dispersal and accelerate forest regeneration. However, differences in fruit traits of pioneer trees can potentially influence dispersal and their restoration outcomes. Here we investigated the effects of bird and plant traits, and distance to forest fragments, on the seed rain using a tree‐planting experiment replicated in 12 deforested sites in Brazil. Factors were fruit traits of pioneer trees (wind‐dispersed, bird‐dispersed with lipids or with carbohydrates and controls) and distance (10, 50, 300 m) from forest fragments. We found that density and richness of birds and seeds decreased exponentially with distance from fragments, yet these effects were minor compared to the effects of fruit traits on the structure of the seed rain. Overall, plots with fleshy fruited pioneers attracted much greater bird activity and seed dispersal than plots with wind‐dispersal pioneers and the controls. For instance, plots with carbohydrate‐rich fruits received more than twice the average species richness and density of birds and seeds of plots with lipid‐rich pioneer trees, surpassing wind‐dispersed pioneers by more than 80%, and controls by over 90%. Furthermore, the fruit trait treatments resulted in morphological shifts in the average traits of visiting birds. Significant differences in bill gape and flight capacities (wing‐loading) were associated with the differences in the seed rain associated with each treatment.
Fleshy fruits provide humans with many flavorful and nutritious crops. Understanding the diversity of these plants is fundamental to managing agriculture and food security in a changing world. This study surveyed fruit trait variation across species of tomato wild relatives and explored associations among color, size, shape, sugars, and acids. These wild tomato species native to South America can be interbred with the economically important cultivated tomato. Beyond its application to tomatoes, deepening our knowledge of how fruit traits evolve together is valuable to crop improvement efforts aimed at breeding more nutritious and appealing varieties of fruits.
Fleshy fruits display a striking diversity of traits, many of which are important for agriculture. The evolutionary drivers of this variation are not well understood, and most studies have relied on variation found in the wild. Few studies have explored this question on a fine‐grained scale with a group of recently diverged species while controlling for environmental effects. We developed the tomato clade as a novel system for fruit trait evolution research by presenting the first common garden‐based systematic survey of variation and phylogenetic signal in color, nutrition, and morphology traits across all 13 species of tomato wild relatives ( We found evidence of two distinct clusters of associated fruit traits defined by color, sugar type, and malic acid concentration. We also observed correlations between a fruit's external appearance and internal nutrient content that could function as honest signals to dispersers. Analyses of historical climate and soil variables revealed an association between red/orange/yellow fruits and high annual average temperature. Our results establish the tomato clade as a promising system for testing hypotheses on the drivers of divergence behind early‐stage fleshy fruit evolution, particularly selective pressure from frugivores.
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10425885
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET
- Volume:
- 5
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 2572-2611
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 948-962
- Size(s):
- ["p. 948-962"]
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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