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

摘要: 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 findings previous studies forests Europe and North America universal or not. Results have suggested that fruits all were eaten both by birds except for four with larger fruits, which only mammals. A gradient was found from syndrome characterized small, oily, large-seeded to large, succulent, non-oily, small-seeded fruits. The sizes colors not conspicuously different America. On other hand, nitrogen lipids part did show seasonally increasing trends, even decreasing trends terms dry weight. result, suggesting absence community-level adaptation traits migratory bird dispersers, contrasted Large arboreal tree-climbing may greater effect on evolution fruit-disperser relations than opportunistic birds.