The Status of Birds Consuming Fruits and Seeds of the Tree and Related Tree Species on Jeju Island, the Republic of Korea

Autor: Chang-Wan Kang, Kuk-Man Song, Eun-Mi Kim, Hyun-Kyu Won, Seong-Youn Lee
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Environmental Science International. 25:635-644
ISSN: 2287-3503
1225-4517
DOI: 10.5322/jesi.2016.25.5.635
Popis: Birds play a main role in the formation and change of forest structures as they are seed-dispersal agents. This study aims to identify birds consuming fruits and seeds of the tree and their associated fruits and seeds on Jeju Island in the context on the forest restoration in Korea. We conducted field surveys twice a month from 2013 to 2015 at nine study sites located across Jeju Island and collected available photographic and observation records. A total of 50 species of birds consuming fruits and seeds of the tree were identified and birds belonging to Bombycillidae, Pycnonotidae, Zosteropidae, Sturnidae and Fringillidae were confirmed as major birds consuming fruits and seeds of the tree. Gulping was the dominant type of feeding as well as crushing, but relationship between the size of a bird and the number of fruit and seed species used by the bird was not significant. We also documented that 118 fruit and seed species were consumed by birds and that shrubby fruits and seeds were more consumed by birds than those of other plant types. The relative consumption rate of fruits and seeds ranged from 0.02 to 0.44, but five species were the most important fruits and seeds for birds. Our finding suggest that avian frugivorous gulpers will benefit the seed dispersal, especially of five fruiting plants, providing useful baseline data for forest restoration and urban park design.
Databáze: OpenAIRE