Use of Fruit Essential Oils to Assist Forest Regeneration by Bats

Frugivorous bats can be attracted with essential oils from ripe chiropterochoric fruit. We evaluated the efficiency of these oils to attract bats in degraded areas within the Atlantic Rain Forest, particularly pasture and agricultural land. We hypothesized that induction units (IUs), each containing a rubber septum impregnated with oil, would have more bat activity than their respective control units (CUs; without the oil). To test this hypothesis we monitored bat flight activity with night‐vision infrared visors in eight IU and CU from August 2006 to July 2007. We also verified the probability of arrival of chiropterochoric seeds by analyzing the diet of bats captured in a neighboring forest area. Our initial hypothesis that units with odor would lead to greater bat activity was confirmed. Results indicated a rich community of fruit‐eating bats, and dietary analysis revealed a huge potential for dispersion of a vast amount of seeds from different plant species at the IU. Although our study does not reveal with certainty which bat species are attracted to the oil, the flying patterns coincide with those described for the foraging behavior of fruit‐eating phyllostomids. Furthermore, the fact that the bats spend more time flying around the odor source compared to flying time around CU suggest an increase in seed rain. Taken together, these results suggest that the use of essential oils from chiropterochoric fruits induces a qualitative and quantitative increase in seed dispersal in areas that otherwise would not be frequently visited by frugivorous bats.     

EVOLUTIONARY ASPECTS OF FRUIT-EATING BY BIRDS

In spite of a considerable literature on fruit-eating, the general evolutionary implications of fruit as a source of food for birds have been neglected. A preliminary attempt is made to explore the evolutionary and ecological consequences of fruit-eating, considered as a mutual interaction between parent plant and dispersal agent. The relationship considered is that obtaining between fleshy fruits and the “legitimate” fruit-eating birds which digest the fleshy part of the fruit and void the seed intact. Evolutionary aspects of seed-eating are also briefly discussed. The “strategies” adopted by fruits for dispersal by birds result in the production of abundant food supplies which are easy of access and exploitable by many species of birds. By contrast, the predation of birds on insects leads to a heterogeneous, sparse and cryptic food supply, to exploit which many different hunting techniques are necessary. Two important evolutionary developments in birds are attributed to these differences in food supply: there tend to be more species in families of insectivorous than of frugivorous birds, and lek behaviour in tropical forest has evolved in predominantly frugivorous birds. The seasonal succession of fruits in temperate latitudes is discussed, and contrasted with the situation in the tropics, using examples from Europe and Trinidad. In general, the succession of ripe fruits in Europe seems to be adapted to the seasonal shifts of the bird populations, and the more nutritious fruits tend to have a more southerly distribution and to ripen later than the more succulent fruits. In the tropics the distinction between nutritious and succulent fruits seems to be largely one of habitat. The constant succession of ripe fruits throughout the year in the tropics probably depends on competition for dispersal by frugivorous birds, which thus ensure the maintenance of their own food supply. This may be regarded as a symbiosis at the level of the ecosystem.     

Food niche overlap among neotropical frugivorous bats in Costa Rica

Food habits of 15 species of frugivorous bats were studied at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. Eight hundred and fifty-four (854) fecal samples and 169 samples from fruit parts and seeds discarded by bats beneath feeding roosts were analyzed. During eight months of study, 47 fruit species consumed by bats were identified. Five plant genera (Cecropia, Ficus, Piper Solanum, and Vismia) constituted 85% of all plants found in fecal samples. Feeding niche breadth differed significantly among the six most common species of frugivorous bats (Artibeus jamaicensis, Carollia sowelli, C. castanea, C. perspicillata, Dermanura sp., and Glossophaga commissarisi). All species, except for Dermanura sp., showed a diet dominated by one or two plant species. This suggests a pattern of resource partitioning at a generic level, in which Carollia consumed mainly Piper, Artibeus consumed Ficus and Cecropia, and Glossophaga consumed Vismia. Cluster analysis revealed higher values of food niche overlap in congeneric species than among species of different genera. Results show that if food is a limiting factor, mechanisms other than trophic selection must reduce interspecific interference or competition for food in this frugivorous bat guild.     

The role of frugivorous bats in tropical forest succession

Discussion of successional change has traditionally focused on plants. The role of animals in producing and responding to successional change has received far less attention. Dispersal of plant propagules by animals is a fundamental part of successional change in the tropics. Here we review the role played by frugivorous bats in successional change in tropical forests. We explore the similarities and differences of this ecological service provided by New and Old World seed-dispersing bats and conclude with a discussion of their current economic and conservation implications. Our review suggests that frugivorous New World phyllostomid bats play a more important role in early plant succession than their Old World pteropodid counterparts. We propose that phyllostomid bats have shared a long evolutionary history with small-seeded early successional shrubs and treelets while pteropodid bats are principally dispersers of the seeds of later successional canopy fruits. When species of figs (Ficus) are involved in the early stages of primary succession (e.g. in the river meander system in Amazonia and on Krakatau, Indonesia), both groups of bats are important contributors of propagules. Because they disperse and sometimes pollinate canopy trees, pteropodid bats have a considerable impact on the economic value of Old World tropical forests; phyllostomid bats appear to make a more modest direct contribution to the economic value of New World tropical forests. Nonetheless, because they critically influence forest regeneration, phyllostomid bats make an important indirect contribution to the economic value of these forests. Overall, fruit-eating bats play important roles in forest regeneration throughout the tropics, making their conservation highly desirable.     

Diets of Frugivorous Bats in Montane Rain Forest and Coffee Plantations in Southeastern Chiapas,Mexico

Frugivorous are one of the main diaspore dispersers in tropical ecosystems, particularly in open areas and sites in the early stages of ecological succession. Frugivorous bat species respond differentially to habitat modification, and in the context of their diaspore dispersal functions it is important to understand species' ecological requirements. We compared the diversity of diaspores, obtained from fecal samples and from fruits carried by frugivorous bats, among five shaded coffee plantations under different management regimes and a montane rain forest in southeastern Chiapas, Mexico. At each site, bats were captured every 2 mo from March 2004 to July 2005, using six mist‐nets, during two consecutive nights. We captured 2589 individuals from 18 frugivorous species, from which we collected 969 fecal samples, containing 42 diaspore species associated with early and late successional plants. Although, we captured more frugivorous bat species in montane rain forest, the number of diaspore species in this site (N=14) was not significantly different from the coffee plantations under different management regimes (16–24). In montane rain forest, Sturnira ludovici fed mainly on Piper auritum, but in coffee plantations ate Peperomia sp., Saurauia madrensis, Solanum chrysotrichum and Solanum diphyllum. Artibeus jamaicensis and Artibeus intermedius feed mostly Cecropia obtusifolia and Ficus cookii in all coffee plantations. We suggest that the presence of frugivorous bats in shaded coffee plantations is favored by trees and shrubs associated with secondary and introduced vegetation that farmers have allowed to grow within or around the plantations.     

Evidence for Exploitative Competition: Comparative Foraging Behavior and Roosting Ecology of Short-Tailed Fruit Bats (Phyllostomidae)

Chestnut short-tailed bats, Carollia castanea , and Seba's short-tailed bats, C. perspicillata (Phyllostomidae), were radio-tracked ( N = 1593 positions) in lowland rain forest at Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Orellana Province, Ecuador. For 11 C . castanea , mean home range was 6.8 ± 2.2 ha, mean core-use area was 1.7 ± 0.8 ha, and mean long axis across home range was 438 ± 106 m. For three C . perspicillata , mean home range was 5.5 ± 1.7 ha, mean core-use area was 1.3 ± 0.6 ha, and mean long axis was 493 ± 172 m. Groups of less than five C. castanea occupied day-roosts in earthen cavities that undercut banks the Tiputini River. Carollia perspicillata used tree hollows and buildings as day-roosts. Interspecific and intraspecific overlap among short-tailed bats occurred in core-use areas associated with clumps of fruiting Piper hispidum (peppers ) and Cecropia sciadophylla . Piper hispidum seeds were present in 80 percent of the fecal samples from C . castanea and 56 percent of samples from C . perspicillata . Carollia perspicillata handled pepper fruits significantly faster than C . castanea ; however, C . castanea commenced foraging before C . perspicillata emerged from day-roosts. Evidence for exploitative competition between C . castanea and C . perspicillata is suggested by our observations that 95 percent of ripe P . hispidum fruits available at sunset disappear before sunrise ( N = 74 marked fruits). Piper hispidum plants produced zero to 12 ripe infructescences per plant each night during peak production. Few ripe infructescences of P . hispidum were available during the dry season; however, ripe infructescences of C . sciadophylla , remained abundant.     

Scale‐dependent effects of forest restoration on Neotropical fruit bats

Neotropical fruit bats (family Phyllostomidae) facilitate forest regeneration on degraded lands by dispersing shrub and tree seeds. Accordingly, if fruit bats can be attracted to restoration sites, seed dispersal could be enhanced. We surveyed bat communities at 10 sites in southern Costa Rica to evaluate whether restoration treatments attracted more fruit bats if trees were planted on degraded farmlands in plantations or island configurations versus natural regeneration. We also compared the relative influence of tree cover at local and landscape spatial scales on bat abundances. We captured 68% more fruit bat individuals in tree plantations as in controls, whereas tree island plots were intermediate. Bat activity also responded to landscape tree cover within a 200‐m radius of restoration plots, with greater abundance but lower species richness in deforested landscapes. Fruit bat captures in controls and tree island plots declined with increasing landscape tree cover, but captures in plantations were relatively constant. Individual species responded differentially to tree cover measured at different spatial scales. We attribute restoration effects primarily to habitat structure rather than food resources because no planted trees produced fruits regularly eaten by bats. The magnitude of tree planting effects on fruit bats was less than previous studies have found for frugivorous birds, suggesting that bats may play a particularly important role in dispersing seeds in heavily deforested and naturally regenerating areas. Nonetheless, our results show that larger tree plantations in more intact landscapes are more likely to attract diverse fruit bats, potentially enhancing seed dispersal.     

Trophic structure of a neotropical frugivore community: is there competition between birds and bats?

Summary Dietary overlap and competition between frugivorous birds and bats in the Neotropics have been presumed to be low, but comparative data have been lacking. We determined the diets of volant frugivores in an early successional patch of Costa Rican wet forest over a one month period. Ordination of the diet matrix by Reciprocal Averaging revealed that birds and bats tend to feed on different sets of fruits and that diets differed more among bat species than among bird species. However, there was overlap between Scarlet-rumped Tanagers and three Carollia bat species on fruits of several Piper species which comprised most of the diet of these bats. Day/night exclosure experiments on P. friedrichsthalli treetlets provided evidence that birds deplete the amount of ripe fruit available to bats. These results indicate that distantly related taxa may overlap in diet and compete for fruit, despite the apparent adaptation of animal-dispersed plant species for dispersal by particular animal taxa.     

Frugivory and the effects of ingestion by bats on the seed germination of three pioneering plants

The dispersion and seedling establishment of pioneering plants can be favoured by the presence of frugivorous bats because the bats usually improve seed germination after ingestion. Although seed germinability is known to vary greatly after ingestion by different bats, the relative contribution of each bat species to seed germination within plant communities is poorly understood. In this study, we first determined the fauna of frugivorous bats in a semideciduous seasonal forest remnant in southern Brazil and subsequently identified the plant species of the seeds passed through their guts. Second, the germination performance (i.e., germination percentage and speed) of the seeds of three pioneering plants (Piper aduncum, Piper hispidinervum and Solanum granuloso-leprosum) ingested by the most abundant bats was compared with that of the non-ingested seeds (seeds collected from fruits). Additionally, the effects on seed germination of different bat species were compared. During one year, five species of frugivorous bats were caught, and the seeds of eleven identifiable plant species (not counting those of undetermined species) were found in their faeces. We found that the germination performance of the seeds of Piper species was significantly enhanced after ingestion by bats, whereas S. granuloso-leprosum seeds had neutral or reduced germinability when seeds in faeces were compared with pulp-removed seeds. Our results revealed that the bat species that were captured exerted different effects upon seed germination; such a disparity is expected to result in different rates of early establishment of these pioneer plants in tropical forests, most likely affecting forest composition and structure, particularly during the initial stages of succession.     

The effect of unripe fruits on ripe fruit removal by birds in Pistacia terebinthus: flag or handicap?

The shrub Pistacia terebinthus produces crowded infructescences with up to several hundred fruits, which are bright red when unripe and turn green when ripe. Most fruits contain an empty seed and never reach maturity. More ripe fruits were removed by birds from experimental bicolored fruit displays (consisting of infructescences with ten ripe fruits and stripped of unripe fruits, paired with infructescences with only unripe fruits) than from monocolored ones (single infructescences with ten ripe fruits and stripped of unripe fruits). Thus, the presence of unripe fruits seems to increase the conspicuousness or attractiveness of fruit displays to fruit-eating birds. A second experiment compared ripe fruit removal from experimental infructescences having only ripe fruits, with that from control infructescences containing both ripe fruits and natural numbers of unripe fruits, all on P. terebinthus plants. Unlike the first experiment, each bicolored display in this case consisted of a single infructescence with both unripe and ripe fruits. A higher proportion of ripe fruits was removed by birds from infructescences free of unripe fruits. This result suggests that the presence of unripe fruits reduces the accessibility of ripe fruits for fruit-eating birds. This is further supported by field observations of bird foraging behavior.     

Do Bats Roost and Forage in Shade Coffee Plantations? A Perspective from the Frugivorous Bat Sturnira hondurensis

Shade coffee plantations are considered important habitats for frugivorous bats. However, it is not known if bats use this agricultural habitat for shelter, food resources, or both. This study addresses these questions using the highland yellow‐shouldered bat (Sturnira hondurensis) as an example. Twenty‐six adult individuals of S. hondurensis were captured, 50 percent in tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) and 50 percent in shade coffee plantations (SCP) in Veracruz, Mexico, and each was fitted with a radio transmitter for locating roosts and feeding areas. Data were obtained from 24 of them. The fieldwork was conducted between October 2010 and October 2011 covering all seasons. Twenty‐two day roosts were located in the cavities of twelve different species of tree. Roosts located in TMCF differed significantly from those in SCP, having a smaller crown area and a greater species richness and density of plants around the roost. In SCP, both the average home range and the average core use area were smaller than in TMCF, but the differences were not statistically significant. Distances travelled by bats were generally longer and more variable in the SCP; the distance between capture site and foraging site was significantly greater in SCP than in TMCF. In SCP, there were fewer understory chiropterochorous plants, which are the main item in the diet of this bat and many other sympatric species of frugivorous bats. Although S. hondurensis does use roosts and foraging sites in the SCP, it is important to note that this species and others with similar requirements primarily depend on the preservation of intact forest adjacent to modified landscapes, where roosts and fruit are constantly available in abundance. Management practices should guarantee a greater density and diverse of trees and the preservation of understory plants with fruits in the coffee plantations that allow a long‐term survival of frugivorous bats populations.     

Tracking Bat‐Dispersed Seeds Using Fluorescent Pigment1

Tracking the dispersal of seeds by fruit‐eating animals in tropical rain forests is crucial to further our understanding of plant–frugivore interactions and their impacts upon forest regeneration and plant population dynamics. We tested the feasibility of tracking bat‐dispersed seeds in a Philippine lowland rain forest with the help of fluorescent pigment. The powder was mixed with acetone and sprayed to ripe fruits of fig trees, i.e., Ficus septica and F. variegata. During nightly monitoring using a hand‐held ultraviolet lamp bat deposits (seed‐containing spat outs and feces) could successfully be detected. Distances and directions of deposit sites to the focal trees were recorded and seed shadow areas were analyzed. Bats dispersed most of the seeds less than 50 m away from the parent plants resulting in seed shadow areas < 0.30 ha in size. An in situ fruit preference experiment showed that fluorescent powder is unlikely to deter bats from feeding on ripe figs. In conclusion, the technique is simple, inexpensive, noninvasive, applicable to different fields of research and allows one to follow the fate of seeds from known sources.     

Home Range of Dobsonia minor (Pteropodidae): A Solitary, Foliage–roosting Fruit Bat in Papua New Guinea

Lesser bare–backed bats (Dobsonia minor [Pteropodidae]) are solitary and roost in foliage of understory and subcanopy trees in lowland rain forest. These 70–90 gram frugivorous bats forage in primary and secondary forest and in abandoned gardens. At the Kau Wildlife Area in Papua New Guinea, movements (N = 1041) of four males and four females fitted with radio transmitters were monitored for 1 to 18 months. Mean home range within 30–day sampling periods was 5.1 ha (N = 12). There were no significant differences in home ranges by sex or by dry–wet season. Females, however, had significandy larger mean core–use areas than males (1.43 ± 0.61 and 0.65 ±0.16 ha, respectively). There was moderate overlap in home range and core–use areas among some simultaneously tracked animals. The long axes of home ranges varied from 150 to 1150 m and the mean was significantly larger in females. Individuals commuted from day roosts to multiple feeding areas, sometimes resulting in disjunct core–use areas and home ranges. Fruits of native Fiats species and the exotic shrub Piper attuncum were staple food items. Piper aduncum grew as dense clusters within early successional habitats, and individual plants ripened 5–20 fruits per night throughout the year. Ficus spp. grew in primary and secondary forest and fruited asynchronously, but individual trees produced tens to thousands of ripe fruits over 7 to 10 days. Three adult female D. minor were tracked over multiple periods spanning 2.5–18 months. Although each female continued to visit a core–use area containing P. aduncum throughout the study, turnover of other core–use areas reflected the ephemeral locations of fruiting fig trees.     

Fruit availability and chimpanzee party size at Kahuzi montane forest,Democratic Republic of Congo

The effect of fruit availability on chimpanzee party size was investigated in the montane forest of Kahuzi. Seasonal variation in both fruit availability and party size was examined. Fruit abundance per se does not affect chimpanzee party size. However, seasonality and distribution patterns of fruits are both determinant ecological factors that control the size of chimpanzee parties at Kahuzi. There was no correlation between fruit abundance and the spatial distribution of fruits. When fruits were clumped and available in large amounts for a long period, chimpanzee party size increased, or otherwise decreased when fruits were highly available for only a limited period. Tree species that produced only a small amount of ripe fruit throughout the year did not affect the foraging party size of chimpanzees. Temporal and spatial variability in fruit abundance seems to constrain grouping patterns of chimpanzees at Kahuzi more so than in other chimpanzee habitats previously described.     

Tropical Secondary Forest Management Influences Frugivorous Bat Composition,Abundance and Fruit Consumption in Chiapas,Mexico

Most studies on frugivorous bat assemblages in secondary forests have concentrated on differences among successional stages, and have disregarded the effect of forest management. Secondary forest management practices alter the vegetation structure and fruit availability, important factors associated with differences in frugivorous bat assemblage structure, and fruit consumption and can therefore modify forest succession. Our objective was to elucidate factors (forest structural variables and fruit availability) determining bat diversity, abundance, composition and species-specific abundance of bats in (i) secondary forests managed by Lacandon farmers dominated by Ochroma pyramidale, in (ii) secondary forests without management, and in (iii) mature rain forests in Chiapas, Southern Mexico. Frugivorous bat species diversity (Shannon H’) was similar between forest types. However, bat abundance was highest in rain forest and O. pyramidale forests. Bat species composition was different among forest types with more Carollia sowelli and Sturnira lilium captures in O. pyramidale forests. Overall, bat fruit consumption was dominated by early-successional shrubs, highest late-successional fruit consumption was found in rain forests and more bats consumed early-successional shrub fruits in O. pyramidale forests. Ochroma pyramidale forests presented a higher canopy openness, tree height, lower tree density and diversity of fruit than secondary forests. Tree density and canopy openness were negatively correlated with bat species diversity and bat abundance, but bat abundance increased with fruit abundance and tree height. Hence, secondary forest management alters forests’ structural characteristics and resource availability, and shapes the frugivorous bat community structure, and thereby the fruit consumption by bats.     

Dietary specialization and fruit availability among frugivorous birds on Sulawesi

Over 20 months I collected data on the diet composition and fruit availability for 23 frugivorous bird species (pigeons, parrots, hornbills and passerines) in two lowland rain forests on Sulawesi, Indonesia. Using these data I determined species dependency on fruit, diet composition, diet breadth and the availability of their fruit resources. Fruit dependency ranged from 44 to 100% of diets across the assemblage, with significant inter-order differences reflecting shared evolutionary history within orders. By contrast, diet breadths did not differ between bird orders owing to high within-order variability, possibly as a result of species-specific foraging strategies. Overall, no significant relationship existed between fruit dependency and diet breadth, which indicated that they are not interchangeable measures of dietary specialization, but that each provided important information on dietary specialization, and enabled assessment of resource requirements and availability. The assemblage consumed the fruits of 120 species representing 40 plant families. Figs ( Ficus spp.) were of great importance across the assemblage and comprised 57% of all fruit-eating records. For hornbills, passerines and pigeons, figs accounted for substantial proportions of monthly feeding records (= 58%) and were consumed whatever the availability of other fruits. Figs were therefore a fundamental part of species' diets, possibly every month, and not merely important during times of relative scarcity of other fruit. Conservation of fig trees both inside and outside protected areas is likely to be important in maintaining healthy populations of figs and the frugivorous birds that depend on them.     

基因组水平蝙蝠嗅觉受体基因的分子进化

翼手目动物（俗称蝙蝠）的食性分化显著,不同食性的蝙蝠具有显著不同的嗅球大小。为了研究嗅觉是否影响了蝙蝠食性的进化,我们利用网上已公布的10种蝙蝠基因组的数据,通过同源比对的方法鉴定出所有的嗅觉受体基因,并进行嗅觉受体基因亚家族的分类,进而比较嗅觉受体基因亚家族的数目差异。结果显示,蝙蝠的嗅觉受体基因与其它哺乳动物一样,都可以分为13个单系起源的亚家族;在Yinpterochiroptera亚目中,OR1/3/7、OR2/13、OR5/8/9等3个嗅觉受体亚家族在食果蝙蝠中均发生了不同程度的扩张,基因数目显著地多于食虫蝙蝠,提示嗅觉在食果蝙蝠取食过程中具有重要的作用。因此,本研究在基因组水平上重现了蝙蝠嗅觉受体基因的进化历史,揭示了3个嗅觉受体基因亚家族的功能可能与食果蝙蝠的食性相关,突出了嗅觉对动物食性的重要作用.     

都江堰林区取食樱桃果实(种子)的鸟类及其种子扩散作用

樱桃(Prunus pseudocerasus)是广泛分布于我国亚热带常绿阔叶林内的一种重要核果植物。为了解食果鸟类在樱桃种群更新中的作用,于2007年和2008年在四川都江堰亚热带常绿阔叶林内研究了取食樱桃果实(种子)的鸟类及其种子扩散作用。研究表明,樱桃成熟果实的下落高峰发生在4月下旬至5月上旬;2007年的种子扩散率为4.0%±1.0%,明显低于2008年(27.7%±5.7%)。在研究地内,发现至少有16种鸟取食樱桃果实或种子,根据其对果实和种子的处理方式分为3个功能群:白头鹎(Pycnontus sinensis)、领雀嘴鹎(Spizixos semitorques)、黑鹎(Hypisipetes leucocephalus)、白颊噪鹛(Garrulax snnio)、红嘴蓝鹊(Urocissa erythorhyncha)等10种鸟吞食樱桃果实,而种子通过消化道末端排出并将种子携至远离母树的地方,是重要的种子扩散者;暗绿绣眼鸟(Alcippe morrisonia)和灰眶雀鹛(Zosterops iaponicus)等4种鸟主要啄食果肉而将种子丢弃在母树下,为啄食果肉者;而普通朱雀(Carpopacus erythrinus)和灰头鸦雀(Paradoxornis gularis)则主要取食种子,为纯粹的种子捕食者。在吞食樱桃果实的食果鸟中,3种鹎科鸟类访问频次所占的比例达55.3%(2007年)和35.3%(2008年),说明鹎科鸟类是都江堰林区樱桃种子的主要扩散者,对樱桃种群的空间格局和自然更新可能有重要影响。     

Why are fruits colorful? The relative importance of achromatic and chromatic contrasts for detection by birds

The colors of fruits and flowers are traditionally viewed as an adaptation to increase the detectability of plant organs to animal vectors. The detectability of visual signals increases with increasing contrasts between target and background. Contrasts consist of a chromatic aspect (color) and an achromatic aspect (light intensity), which are perceived separately by animals. To evaluate the relative importance of fruits’ chromatic and achromatic contrasts for the detection by avian fruit consumers we conducted an experiment with artificial fruits of four different colors in a tropical forest. We displayed the fruits against two different backgrounds, an artificial background and a natural one, because they differed in achromatic properties. We found no effect of the type of background on fruit detection rates. Detection rates differed for the four fruit colors. The probability of detection was explained by the chromatic contrast between fruits and their background, not by the achromatic contrasts. We suggest that birds attend primarily to chromatic contrast probably because these are more reliably detected under variable light conditions. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found habitat-specific differences in the conspicuousness of natural fruit colors in the study area. Fruits of understory species that are subjected to the variable light conditions within a forest displayed higher chromatic contrasts than species growing in the open restinga forest with constant bright illumination. There was no such difference for achromatic contrasts. In sum, we suggest that fruit colors differ between habitats because fruit colors that have strong chromatic contrasts against background can increase plants’ reproductive success, particularly under variable light conditions.