title: Neotropical fish-fruit interactions: eco-evolutionary dynamics and conservation.
abstract: Frugivorous fish play a prominent role in seed dispersal and reproductive dynamics of plant communities in riparian and floodplain habitats of tropical regions worldwide. In Neotropical wetlands, many plant species have fleshy fruits and synchronize their fruiting with the flood season, when fruit-eating fish forage in forest and savannahs for periods of up to 7 months. We conducted a comprehensive analysis to examine the evolutionary origin of fish-fruit interactions, describe fruit traits associated with seed dispersal and seed predation, and assess the influence of fish size on the effectiveness of seed dispersal by fish (ichthyochory). To date, 62 studies have documented 566 species of fruits and seeds from 82 plant families in the diets of 69 Neotropical fish species. Fish interactions with flowering plants are likely to be as old as 70 million years in the Neotropics, pre-dating most modern bird-fruit and mammal-fruit interactions, and contributing to long-distance seed dispersal and possibly the radiation of early angiosperms. Ichthyochory occurs across the angiosperm phylogeny, and is more frequent among advanced eudicots. Numerous fish species are capable of dispersing small seeds, but only a limited number of species can disperse large seeds. The size of dispersed seeds and the probability of seed dispersal both increase with fish size. Large-bodied species are the most effective seed dispersal agents and remain the primary target of fishing activities in the Neotropics. Thus, conservation efforts should focus on these species to ensure continuity of plant recruitment dynamics and maintenance of plant diversity in riparian and floodplain ecosystems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, 715 Sumter St., Columbia, SC 29208, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Sandra Bibiana
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Correa
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós Graduação em Ecologia & Biodiversidade, Universidade Estadual Paulista 'Julio de Mesquita Filho', Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Raul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Costa-Pereira
authors.affiliation: Emeritus, Department of Biology, University of Miami, 1301 Memorial Dr., Coral Gables, FL 33124, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Theodore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY 10460, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goulding
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, 715 Sumter St., Columbia, SC 29208, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Jill T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005399:Fishes / Q000502:physiology*; D005638:Fruit / Q000502:physiology*; D053833:Wetlands
keywords: Amazon; floodplain; frugivory; fruit-eating fish; ichthyochory; overfishing; riparian forests; seed dispersal; seed predation; wetlands