5th International Symposium-Workshop on Frugivores and Seed Dispersal (1985-2010)

FSD 2010 - Horn

FSD2010

IYB2010

www.cbd.int/2010

Michael H. Horn

Professor of Biology
California State University Fullerton
Department of Biological Science
800 N. State College Boulevard
Fullerton CA 92834-6850

mhorn@fullerton.edu

Website


Activity

I strive to provide up-to-date, hands-on experiences through lab and field exercises and inquiry-based investigations. In all of my recent classes, groups of students undertake problem-based learning projects giving them the opportunity to work together to seek solutions by integrating and interpreting material gathered from the print literature, the internet, and through direct contact with professionals actively involved in the field. Our research focuses on 1) the ontogeny and phylogeny of dietary specialization involving gut structure and function in carnivorous and herbivorous fishes, the evolution of herbivory, and answering the question: What does it take to be a herbivore? 2) on the food and foraging of terns and skimmers nesting in southern California, their trophic structure, and their response to wetland restoration, shifting prey abundance, and changing ocean climate, and 3) on the concept of rarity applied to endangered species and their close relative. (Photo : Pia Parolin in Manaus with a catfish).

Abstract

Seed dispersal by fishes in tropical and temperate fresh waters: the growing evidence

by Michael Horn1, Sandra Correa2, Pia Parolin3, Bart Pollux4, Jill Anderson5, Christine Lucas6, Peter Widmann7, Albertus Tiju8, Mauro Galetti9, Michael Goulding10

1 Department of Biological Science, California State University, Fullerton
2 Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University
3 Department of Biology, University of Hamburg
4 Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside
5 Department of Biology, Duke University
6 Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida
7 Fakultas Kehutanan, University of Tanjungpura, Pontianak, Indonesia
8 World Wildlife Fund Indonesia, Pontianak, Indonesia
9 Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Brazil
10 Amazon Conservation Association, Washington, DC

Fruit-eating by fishes represents an ancient interaction increasingly regarded as important for seed dispersal (ichthyochory) in tropical and temperate ecosystems. Most of the nearly 200 known frugivorous species belong to the mainly tropical Characiformes (pacus, piranhas) and Siluriformes (catfishes), but cypriniforms (carps, minnows) are more important in the Holarctic and Indomalayan realms. Frugivores are among the most abundant fishes in Neotropical floodplains where they eat the fruits of a wide variety of trees and shrubs. By consuming fruits, fishes gain access to rich sources of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins and act as either seed predators or dispersers. With their often high mobility, large size, and great longevity, fruit-eating fishes can play important roles as seed dispersers and exert strong influences on local plant-recruitment dynamics and regional biodiversity. Recent feeding experiments focused on seed traits after gut passage support the idea that fishes are major seed dispersers in floodplain and riparian forests. Overfishing, damming and deforestation potentially diminish ichthyochory and require immediate attention to ameliorate their effects. Much exciting work remains in terms of fish and plant adaptations to ichthyochory, dispersal regimes involving fishes in different ecosystems, and increased use of nondestructive methods such as stomach lavage, stable isotopes, genetic analyses and radio transmitters to determine fish diets and movements.

References