Pervasive ethanol in the fruits and floral nectars consumed by tropical frugivores

Ethanol is widespread in tropical plant reproductive tissues, detected in ripened fruits of 72% of 591 angiosperm species (0.021%–3.9% ABV) across 18 countries.

• Why it matters: The selective-force hypothesis for dietary ethanol has lacked broad, multi-site measurements, limiting tests of ecological and evolutionary drivers in wild fruit- and nectar-feeding systems.
• What they did: A global survey quantified ethanol in wild fruits (591 species) and flowers (37 species) from 18 countries, then modeled variation using ecological variables and phylogenetic relatedness.
• The result: Fruit ethanol levels varied with temperature, humidity, and phylogeny, and were higher on the forest floor than in the canopy; extrapolated primate maximum intake reached 0.72 g/kg/day (average), implying pervasive exposure.

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