bioRxivJClub
Body size and fruit handling ability explain frugivory patterns among Asian mammals
bioRxiv · · Preprint · Open access
Basu, McConkey + 4 more
Abstract ↗AI summary
The abstract is read at the publisher; the summary is JClub's.
Body size and fruit handling ability are linked to the mean and maximum fruit sizes consumed by Asian terrestrial mammals, with handling affecting non-figs more than figs.
- Why it matters: Mammalian frugivory patterns are less explained by trait-based drivers than in birds, despite mammals’ wide morphological and ecological diversity across Asia.
- What they did: Using frugivory records from 518 sources (5276 unique plant–mammal interactions; 142 mammal species; 2,234 plant species) for three terrestrial guilds, the study applied PGLS and OLS to test links between body size, handling behavior, and fruit size metrics.
- The result: Mammal groups differed in fruit taxonomic diversity and in fruit colour, type, and growth habit; body size was generally associated with consumed fruit size, while handling ability predicted maximum non-fig fruit size but not figs.
The findingWhy it mattersWhat they didThe result
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