Chuti-on Savini. Food overlap and fruit selection among four sympatric hornbill species during different phases of their annual cycle. Doctoral Degree(Biology). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2007.
Food overlap and fruit selection among four sympatric hornbill species during different phases of their annual cycle
Abstract:
The study was conducted at Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, where close
sympatry is observed between four hornbill species, namely: Great hornbills (Buceros
bicornis), Wreathed Hornbills (Aceros undulatus), Oriental Pied Hornbills
(Anthracoceros albirostris) and White-throated Brown Hornbills (Anorrhinus austeni).
The main objective was to determine important factors in fruit selection by hornbills
and identify food overlaps of morphology and chemistry of fruits included in hornbill
diet. Fruit morphology and their chemical components of food and non-food of
hornbill were studied. Figs are important species in the diet during the entire year.
Red and black fruits and syconium with pulp that can be detached from the seed easily
are preferred. Moreover, consuming fruits with pulp easily detachedable from the seed
detached easily from seed is easier for regurgitation and the extraction of the pulp can
be done without gut passage. Hornbills tend to choose lipid-rich fruit with high
calcium. Fruit types with high lipid were found to be capsule, drupe, berry and
syconium respectively. The mean levels of calcium were significantly higher in
syconium and fruits with a detached pulp of orange color. My results show that eaten
fruits have relatively lower moisture content compared to non-eaten ones it meaning
that hornbills prefer dry fruits. The low level of moisture in the birds diet is explained
as a strategy to avoid the carrying around of large volumes of water, which would
make it difficult to fly. The model of fruit selection for future management, defined by
Logistic Regression analysis, helps describe the relabeing eaten by hornbills. The
model can predict which fruit characteristics (fruit type, detachment of pulp, fruit
weight, fruit length and color) increase the chance of the fruit being eaten and which
characteristics lessen the chance of the fruit being eaten. There was no food limitation
so fruit selection was not the consequence of food availability in the forest. Schoeners
Overlap Index and CCA showed low dietary overlap between the four hornbill species
suggests that there is a limited food competition for fruits.