Food plant diversity as broad-scale determinant of avian frugivore richness

The causes of variation in animal species richness at large spatial scales are intensively debated. Here, we examine whether the diversity of food plants, contemporary climate and energy, or habitat heterogeneity determine species richness patterns of avian frugivores across sub-Saharan Africa. Path models indicate that species richness of Ficus (their fruits being one of the major food resources for frugivores in the tropics) has the strongest direct effect on richness of avian frugivores, whereas the influences of variables related to water-energy and habitat heterogeneity are mainly indirect. The importance of Ficus richness for richness of avian frugivores diminishes with decreasing specialization of birds on fruit eating, but is retained when accounting for spatial autocorrelation. We suggest that a positive relationship between food plant and frugivore species richness could result from niche assembly mechanisms (e.g. coevolutionary adaptations to fruit size, fruit colour or vertical stratification of fruit presentation) or, alternatively, from stochastic speciation-extinction processes. In any case, the close relationship between species richness of Ficus and avian frugivores suggests that figs are keystone resources for animal consumers, even at continental scales.     

Plant-disperser mutualisms in a semi-arid habitat invaded by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lantana camara</Emphasis> L.

Dispersal is an important ecological process that affects plant population structure and community composition. Invasive plants with fleshy fruits rapidly form associations with native and invasive dispersers, and may affect existing native plant-disperser associations. We asked whether frugivore visitation rate and fruit removal was associated with plant characteristics in a community of fleshy-fruited plants and whether an invasive plant receives more visitation and greater fruit removal than native plants in a semi-arid habitat of Andhra Pradesh, India. Tree-watches were undertaken at individuals of nine native and one invasive shrub species to assess the identity, number and fruit removal by avian frugivores. Network analyses and generalised linear mixed-effects models were used to understand species and community-level patterns. All plants received most number of visits from abundant, generalist avian frugivores. Number of frugivore visits and time spent by frugivores at individual plants was positively associated with fruit crop size, while fruit removal was positively associated with number of frugivore visits and their mean foraging time at individual plants. The invasive shrub, Lantana camara L. (Lantana), had lower average frugivore visit rate than the community of fleshy-fruited plants and received similar average frugivore visits but greater average per-hour fruit removal than two other concurrently fruiting native species. Based on the results of our study, we infer that there is little evidence of competition between native plants and Lantana for the dispersal services of native frugivores and that more data are required to assess the nature of these interactions over the long term. We speculate that plant associations with generalist frugivores may increase the functional redundancy of this frugivory network, buffering it against loss of participating species.     

An invasive tree alters the structure of seed dispersal networks between birds and plants in French Polynesia

Aim We studied how the abundance of the highly invasive fruit‐bearing tree Miconia calvescens DC. influences seed dispersal networks and the foraging patterns of three avian frugivores. Location Tahiti and Moorea, French Polynesia. Methods Our study was conducted at six sites which vary in the abundance of M. calvescens. We used dietary data from three frugivores (two introduced, one endemic) to determine whether patterns of fruit consumption are related to invasive tree abundance. We constructed seed dispersal networks for each island to evaluate how patterns of interaction between frugivores and plants shift at highly invaded sites. Results Two frugivores increased consumption of M. calvescens fruit at highly invaded sites and decreased consumption of other dietary items. The endemic fruit dove, Ptilinopus purpuratus, consumed more native fruit than either of the two introduced frugivores (the red‐vented bulbul, Pycnonotus cafer, and the silvereye, Zosterops lateralis), and introduced frugivores showed a low potential to act as dispersers of native plants. Network patterns on the highly invaded island of Tahiti were dominated by introduced plants and birds, which were responsible for the majority of plant–frugivore interactions. Main conclusions Shifts in the diet of introduced birds, coupled with reduced populations of endemic frugivores, caused differences in properties of the seed dispersal network on the island of Tahiti compared to the less invaded island of Moorea. These results demonstrate that the presence of invasive fruit‐bearing plants and introduced frugivores can alter seed dispersal networks, and that the patterns of alteration depend both on the frugivore community and on the relative abundance of available fruit.     

Fruit preferences by fishes in a Neotropical floodplain

The diets of frugivorous animals result from the interaction between feeding preference and ecological factors such as availability of alternative resources and interactions with other frugivores. A better understanding of frugivore diets will enable predictions about the vulnerability of plant populations to anthropogenic or natural environmental changes. In addition, frugivores with greater variation in diet (generalists) are potentially more resilient to habitat changes than specialists. Here, we combined data on diets of frugivorous fishes with visual censuses on fruit availability to evaluate if fishes are selective or opportunistic in their use of fruits in floodplain habitats. We found a high diversity of fruit species (74 species) frequently consumed by four common species of frugivorous fishes during the flooding season. The identity of preferred fruits, rather than their availability, had a stronger effect on the patterns of fruit consumed by fishes in this system. Fruit preferences by fish may influence the long-term persistence and the maintenance of plant diversity in floodplain habitats. Possible disturbances of fish populations with selective consumption and the plant populations on which they depend could increase the vulnerability of both populations involved. Thus, selectivity may affect ecological and evolutionary processes associated with frugivory by fish.     

Vertically stratified frugivore community composition and interaction frequency in a liana fruiting across forest strata

Vertical stratification is a key feature of tropical forests and structures plant–frugivore interactions. However, it is unclear whether vertical differences in plant-frugivore interactions are due to differences among strata in plant community composition or inherent preferences of frugivores for specific strata. To test this, we observed fruit removal of a diverse frugivore community on the liana Marcgravia longifolia in a Peruvian rain forest. Unlike most other plants, Marcgravia longifolia produces fruits across forest strata. This enabled us to study effects of vertical stratification on fruit removal without confounding effects of plant species and stratum. We found a high number of visits of a few frugivore species in the understorey and a low number of visits of many different frugivores in the canopy and midstorey. Whereas partial and opportunistic frugivores foraged across strata with differing frequencies, obligate frugivores were only found eating fruits in the higher strata. Avian frugivores foraging in the canopy were mainly large species with pointed wings, whereas under- and midstorey avian foragers were smaller with rounded wings. Our findings suggest a continuous shift in the frugivore community composition along the vertical gradient, from a few generalized frugivores in the understorey to a diverse set of specialized frugivores in the canopy. This shift in the frugivore community leads to correlated, reciprocal changes from specialized to generalized plant-frugivore interactions. Thus, we conclude that vertical niche differentiation between species in tropical forests persists even when food resources are available across strata. This highlights its role for promoting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.     

Do seeds from invasive bromes experience less granivory than seeds from native congeners in the Great Basin Desert?

In part, the enemy release hypothesis of plant invasion posits that generalist herbivores in the non-native ranges of invasive plants will prefer native plants to exotic invaders. However, the extent to which this occurs in natural communities is unclear. Here, I examined the foraging preferences of an important guild of generalist herbivores—granivorous rodents—with respect to seeds from a suite of native and invasive Bromus (“brome”) species at five study sites distributed across?≈?80,000 km² of the Great Basin Desert, USA. By examining only congeners, I accounted for a potentially large source of interspecific variation (phylogenetic relatedness). In general, granivorous rodents removed seeds from native bromes at a 23% higher rate than seeds from invasive bromes, suggesting a preference for native species. This preference was not entirely explained by seed size, and patterns of seed removal were consistent across study sites. These findings suggest that invasive bromes in the Great Basin might experience less rodent granivory than native congeners, which is consistent with a key prediction derived from the enemy release hypothesis.     

Fruit Traits in Baboon Diet: A Comparison with Plant Species Characteristics in West Africa

Primate fruit choice among plant species has been attributed to different morphological plant and fruit characteristics. Despite a high abundance of animal-dispersed plant species in the savanna–forest mosaic of West Africa, few data are available on the interplay between morphological fruit traits and primate fruit consumers in this ecosystem. We tested whether olive baboons (Papio anubis) at Comoé National Park, north-eastern Ivory Coast, prefer fruit species with particular characteristics relative to the availability of these traits among the woody plant species at the study site. Specifically we were interested in the suites of traits that best predict fruit choice and seed handling by baboons. The baboons ate fruit/seeds from 74 identified plant species, representing 25 percent of the regional pool of woody plant species. They preferred trees to shrubs and lianas as fruit sources. Otherwise, baboons seemed to consume whatever fruit type, color, and size of fruit and seeds available, though they especially included larger fruit into their diet. Against expectations from the African bird–monkey fruit syndrome of brightly colored drupes and berries, baboons ate mostly species having large, dull-colored fruit. Fruit type and color best described whether baboons included a species into their diet, whereas fruit type and seed size best predicted whether baboons predated upon the seeds of their food plant species. As most plant species at the study site had medium-sized to large fruits and seeds, large frugivores like baboons might be particularly important for plant fitness and plant community dynamics in West African savanna–forest ecosystems.     

Opposed latitudinal patterns of network‐derived and dietary specialization in avian plant–frugivore interaction systems

Latitudinal patterns of biodiversity have been studied for centuries, but it is only during the last decades that species interaction networks have been used to examine the proposed latitudinal gradient of biotic specialization. These studies have given idiosyncratic results, which may either be because of genuine biological differences between systems, different concepts and scales used to quantify biotic specialization or because the methodological approaches used to compare interaction networks were inappropriate. Here we carefully examine the latitudinal specialization gradient using a global dataset of avian plant–frugivore assemblages and interaction networks. In particular, we test whether network‐derived specialization patterns differ from patterns based on assemblage‐level information on avian dietary preferences on specific food types. We found that network‐derived measures of specialization (complementary specialization H₂′ and < d’>, modularity Q) increased with latitude, i.e. frugivorous birds divide the niche of fruiting plants most finely at high latitudes where they also formed more modular interaction networks than at tropical latitudes. However, the strength and significance of the relationship between specialization metrics and latitude was influenced by the methodological approach. On the other hand, assemblage‐level information on avian specialization on fruit diet (i.e. the proportion of obligate frugivorous bird species feeding primarily on fruit) revealed an opposed latitudinal pattern as more bird species were specialized on fruit diet in tropical than in temperate assemblages. This difference in the latitudinal specialization gradient reflects that obligate frugivores require a high diversity of fruit plants, as observed in tropical systems, and fulfil more generalized roles in plant–frugivore networks than bird species feeding on different food types. Future research should focus on revealing the underlying ecological, historical and evolutionary mechanisms shaping these patterns. Our results highlight the necessity of comparing different scales of biotic specialization for a better understanding of geographical patterns of specialization in resource–consumer interactions.     

The role of frugivory in plant diversity maintenance – a simulation approach

Frugivores may play a key role in plant species coexistence by equalizing the species’ representation in the seed rain. Rare species may benefit from enhanced dispersal if frugivores prefer locally scarce fruits, or if rare plants are found in neighborhoods of high fruit density. Using a simulation model of frugivorous birds foraging on landscapes we tested if increased diversity in the seed rain could emerge from rare‐biased fruit selection, from the spatial configuration of plants, or both. In the absence of rare‐biased fruit selection, frugivores were not able to increase the diversity of the seed rain in any of our simulated landscapes. In contrast, when frugivores were attracted to locally scarce fruits, we found increased diversity in the seed rain whenever frugivore mobility across the landscape was high and plant species were well‐mixed in the fruiting neighborhoods. Irrespectively of the behavioral mechanism involved, landscape fragmentation lead to losses in diversity and species richness of simulated communities. In all simulations, density‐dependent mortality of dispersed seeds increased diversity in the community of seedlings. However, landscape homogenization at the scale of frugivores movements decreased the magnitude of this diversification effect. In summary, our study shows that frugivory has the potential to increase diversity in the seed rain when frugivores display rare‐biased fruit choices, provided that rare and common plants form heterogeneous neighborhoods. They also show that fragmentation is a major threat for diversity maintenance in the early‐regenerating community. Finally, they show that rarity confers advantages during regeneration only if it occurs at the scale of frugivores’ foraging decisions.     

Importance of animal and plant traits for fruit removal and seedling recruitment in a tropical forest

The traits of animals and plants influence their interaction networks, but the significance of species' traits for the resulting ecosystem functions is poorly understood. A crucial ecosystem function in the tropics is seed dispersal by animals. While the importance of species' traits for structuring plant–frugivore networks is supported by a number of studies, no study has so far identified the functional traits determining the subsequent processes of fruit removal and seedling recruitment. Here, we conducted a comprehensive field study on fruit removal by frugivorous birds and seedling recruitment along an elevational gradient in the Colombian Andes. We measured morphological traits of birds (body mass, bill width, Kipp's index) and plants (plant height, crop mass, fruit width and seed mass) which we expected to be related to fruit removal and seedling recruitment. We tested 1) which bird and plant traits influence fruit removal, and 2) whether network metrics at plant species level, functional identities of frugivores (community‐based mean trait values) and/or plant traits were the main determinants of seedling recruitment. We found that large‐bodied bird species contributed more to fruit removal than small‐bodied bird species and that small‐sized fruits were more frequently removed than large‐sized fruits. Small plant species and plants with heavy seeds recruited more seedlings than did large plants and plants with light seeds. Network metrics and functional identities of seed dispersers were unrelated to seedling recruitment. Our findings have two important implications. First, large birds are functionally more important than small birds in tropical seed‐removal networks. Second, the detected tradeoff between fruit size and seed mass in subsequent recruitment processes suggests that the adaptability of forest plant communities to a loss of large frugivores is limited by life‐history constraints. Hence, the protection of large‐bodied frugivores is of primary importance for the maintenance of diverse tropical plant communities.     

Do frugivores enhance germination success of plant species? An experimental approach

Frugivorous birds are among the most important consumers of fleshy fruits particularly in sub-tropical and tropical forest ecosystems. Whether or not such plant–frugivore interactions contribute to germination enhancement is still a subject of much debate. We tested the effect of gut treatment by four captive species of avian frugivores in comparison to manually depulped seeds and whole fruits on seedling emergence and germination probability of seeds from sixteen plant species in South Africa. Moreover, we determined whether fruit weight of each plant species affected germination patterns. Across plant species, a total of 2795 seeds were planted, of which 50% germinated. Both seedling emergence and germination probability neither differed among the bird species nor in comparison to manually depulped seeds or whole fruits. Further, seedling emergence and germination probability were both unaffected by fruit weight. However, the germination probability of all treatments increased similarly with increasing number of weeks after planting. Overall, these results suggest that seed depulping, neither by gut treatment nor manually improved germination of seeds, irrespective of their fruit weights. Thus, the major contribution of frugivores to forest regeneration may be more confined in transporting seeds away from the mother plant than in germination enhancement per se.     

An analysis of diet specialization in frugivorous Pteropus poliocephalus (Megachiroptera) in Australian subtropical rainforest

Abstract The Grey-headed flying fox Pteropus poliocephalus Temminck 1825 is the only mammalian frugivore to occupy substantial areas of the subtropical rainforests of eastern Australia. The composition of the P. poliocephalus diet and diet specialization in the species are therefore pertinent to studies of trophic structure, seed dispersal and evolutionary processes in these forests. During a three-year diet study, P. poliocephalus used fruits from 44 species of canopy and edge plants. Their taxonomically diverse diet was dominated by the Myrtaceae and Moraceae. Dietary specialization by P. poliocephalus was examined using two criteria: the influence of fruit morphology on diet choice and dietary overlap with sympatric avian frugivores. There was no evidence from either approach that they were specialist feeders. Initial analyses comparing the morphological characters of diet fruits with fruits available to P. poliocephalus during the study period showed a preference for white fruits, berries, syconia and fruits with multiple seeds, and avoidance of black fruits and drupes. However, these significant results were not sustained when the confounding effects of correlations between fruit morphology and other traits were considered. All, except the response to berries, could be attributed to either avoidance by P. poliocephalus of secondary compounds in the Lauraceae or selection for the beneficial phenology of Ficus. Dietary overlap with frugivorous birds was notably high and the fruit diet of P. poliocephalus formed a subset of the avian diet. Associations between fruit colour, size and protective mechanisms have been documented in other rainforest areas and have been proposed as indicators of coadaptive relationships between vertebrate frugivores and their diet plants. However, these associations were not apparent in the morphological characters of fleshy fruits from Australian subtropical rainforest trees. An explanatory hypothesis of primarily avian influence on fruit traits is presented.     

The sweet side of life: nectar sugar type and concentration preference in Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat

Whether nectarivores or frugivores place selective pressure on the plants they feed on, in terms of nectar or fruit traits, is much debated. Globally sugar preferences, concentration preference and digestive ability of avian nectarivores have been extensively researched. In contrast, relatively little is known about mammalian nectarivores or frugivores in terms of these, particularly Old World species. Consequently effect of sugar type and concentration on food preference in Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat Epomophorus wahlbergi was investigated. Pair-wise choice tests were conducted using equicaloric hexose and sucrose solutions at five different concentrations (5%-25%). It was expected that they would prefer hexose sugars as these are dominant in available indigenous fruits. However, bats preferred hexoses only when offered dilute (5%) concentrations. From 10% to 25% they showed a decrease in volume intake. Their body mass was generally higher and similar after feeding during the night with the exception of 5% concentration where the mean body mass decreased. When E. wahlbergi were offered a range of sucrose or hexose solutions (10%-25%) respectively, they showed no concentration preference in terms of total volume consumed, nor energy intake. These findings suggest that these fruit bats do not appear to act as a selective pressure on sugar composition in Old World fruit. In fruit bats with high energy requirements, dietary flexibility may be an advantage when faced with seasonal and unpredictable fruit availability.     

Positive relationship between fruit removal by animals and seedling recruitment in a tropical forest

Fleshy-fruited plants rely on animal frugivores to disperse their seeds, and seed removal by frugivores may leave an imprint on seedling recruitment. However, to what extent plant–frugivore interactions are related to seedling recruitment has rarely been quantified at the community level, especially in species-rich tropical forests. In this study, we tested the effect of different plant traits on fruit removal by frugivores and tested the relative importance of fruit removal, plant traits and abiotic factors for seedling recruitment. We quantified plant–frugivore interactions of 22 fleshy-fruited plant species consumed by 56 diurnal frugivore species, and counted the number of seedlings that emerged along an elevational gradient in the Colombian Andes. We measured a set of plant traits (i.e., crop size; fruit size; seed load and mass; fruit nutritional contents), estimated the density of adult plants and recorded relevant abiotic factors (light, temperature and humidity). We found that fruit removal by frugivores was positively associated with crop size, but negatively associated with fruit length and unrelated to seed load and fruit nutritional content. Seedling densities were positively related to the density of adult plants, seed mass and fruit removal by animals. We found no relationship between abiotic factors and seedling recruitment. Our results indicate that fruit abundance and morphology are important determinants of fruit removal and that fruit removal is positively associated with seedling recruitment accounting for effects of species abundance and plant traits. We conclude that plant traits shape fruit removal and seedling recruitment at the community level, while these two crucial processes of forest regeneration are directly linked by seed dispersal of animals.     

Diplochory in western chokecherry: you can��t judge a fruit by its mesocarp

Western chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. demissa, Rosaceae) is dispersed by frugivorous birds and carnivores, but it has large seeds that are potentially attractive to rodents that could act as seed predators and dispersers. Here, we quantify the benefits of primary dispersal by birds and secondary dispersal by scatter-hoarding rodents. In the fall, avian frugivores (mostly American robins, Turdus migratorius, and cedar waxwings, Bombycilla cedrorum) consumed 87% of the fruit crop and dispersed 67% of the fruit crop away from parent plants. Rodents removed 89% of seeds that simulated bird-dispersed seed rain from transects in riparian zones and 58% from transects in upland habitats. Rodents scatter-hoarded 91.6% of the seeds they removed, burying most in small caches (two to eight seeds) 8?C25?mm deep. About 39% of the seeds in spring caches produced seedlings. Inside rodent-proof exclosures, 52.1% of seeds buried to simulate rodent caches produced seedlings, 29.7% of which were still alive after 1?year. In contrast, only 3.8% of seeds placed on the soil surface, simulating dispersal by avian frugivores, produced seedlings. Seed dispersal by frugivorous birds likely contributes to colonization of unoccupied habitat through long-range dispersal and to escape from distance-dependent seed mortality near the parent plant. Despite seed losses, rodents offer short-range seed dispersal and bury seeds in more favorable sites for germination, improving seedling emergence and establishment. The combined mechanisms of seed dispersal significantly enhanced chokecherry seedling recruitment by providing more dispersal-related benefits than either frugivorous bird or scatter-hoarding rodents could provide alone.     

Latitudinal and elevational variation in fruiting phenology among western European bird-dispersed plants

I try to test the prediction that bird-dispersed plants should produce fruits when fruit-eating birds are most abundant by reviewing some phenological data of fleshy fruit production in western Europe The prediction that fruit ripening dates in populations of the same species should occur later at lower latitudes and elevations, to coincide with the maximum abundance of fruit-eating birds, is not supported by the data The patterns of seasonal variation in the total number and biomass of fruits, but not in the proportion of species in fruit, in communities at different latitudes and elevations do coincide with patterns of seasonal abundances of avian frugivores 1 suggest that this coincidence is due to the greater relative abundance (and contribution to total fruit production) in each locality of species that fruit at times of the year when birds are most abundant These species may have achieved a demographic advantage by getting more seeds dispersed than species that ripen fruits in other seasons     

Composition and clumping of seeds deposited by frugivorous birds varies between forest microsites

More frequent deposition of seeds by frugivores beneath plants in fruit could impose spatial limits to the distribution of plants dispersed by animals and contribute to species coexistence. Also, differences in diet and use of microhabitats by seed dispersers could promote spatial variation in the combination of seed species deposited. We investigated patterns of seed deposition of Miconia fosteri and Miconia serrulata (Melastomataceae) by birds in the Amazon. The goal was to determine how distribution and abundance of fruiting plants, both con‐ and hetero‐specifics, affect the spatial variability in clumping and composition of multi‐specific seed deposition. We established two 9‐ha plots in undisturbed terra‐firme understory in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Seed rain was sampled with seed traps located in four microsites: below plants of the focal species, below Anthurium eminens (Araceae), and in randomly selected microsites. We examined seed deposition in these microsites in relation to habitat, fruiting neighborhood (fruit abundance, and distance to and density of plants of the target species), and crop size of M. fosteri or M. serrulata to determine if microsites differed in abundance and species composition of seeds. Seed traps below plants in fruit received more seeds than did randomly located traps. Seeds of the target species were, moreover, more commonly deposited below con‐ rather than hetero‐specific plants. Seed aggregation below fruiting plants increased in forest neighborhoods where the abundance of fruits and the combination of fruiting plant species contributed to the arrival of seeds. Microsites differed notably in the combination of seeds deposited by frugivores, and differences were less pronounced among microsites that received seeds of M. fosteri and M. serrulata than among all microsites where at least some seed species were deposited by birds. We demonstrate that two closely related, ecologically similar species possess many similarities in their patterns of seed deposition and in the factors that affect those patterns. The combination of seed species deposited below foci of dispersal depended on the fruiting plant species, and the spatial patterns of seed deposition varied with the location of the microsite and the combination of co‐dispersed species in the neighborhood. Similar species that share the same dispersers were confronted with different combinations of seeds depending on the microsite where they arrived, which could promote forest heterogeneity in the combination of plant species.     

The role of fruit traits of bird-dispersed plants in invasiveness and weed risk assessment

Aim  Birds play a major role in the dispersal of seeds of many fleshy-fruited invasive plants. The fruits that birds choose to consume are influenced by fruit traits. However, little is known of how the traits of invasive plant fruits contribute to invasiveness or to their use by frugivores. We aim to gain a greater understanding of these relationships to improve invasive plant management.
Location  South-east Queensland, Australia.
Methods  We measure a variety of fruit morphology, pulp nutrient and phenology traits of a suite of bird-dispersed alien plants. Frugivore richness of these aliens was derived from the literature. Using regressions and multivariate methods, we investigate relationships between fruit traits, frugivore richness and invasiveness.
Results  Plant invasiveness was negatively correlated to fruit size, and all highly invasive species had quite similar fruit morphology [smaller fruits, seeds of intermediate size and few (< 10) seeds per fruit]. Lower pulp water was the only pulp nutrient trait associated with invasiveness. There were strong positive relationships between the diversity of bird frugivores and plant invasiveness, and in the diversity of bird frugivores in the study region and another part of the plants' alien range.
Main conclusions  Our results suggest that weed risk assessments (WRA) and predictions of invasive success for bird-dispersed plants can be improved. Scoring criteria for WRA regarding fruit size would need to be system-specific, depending on the fruit-processing capabilities of local frugivores. Frugivore richness could be quantified in the plant's natural range, its invasive range elsewhere, or predictions made based on functionally similar fruits.     

Avian fruit consumption and seed dispersal in a temperate Australian woodland

Abstract The effectiveness of avian fruit consumers as seed dispersers of fleshy‐fruited plants was studied in a temperate woodland community. As a consequence of the short and overlapping fruiting phenologies of fleshy‐fruited plant species in temperate regions of Australia, there are very few avian species that are true specialist frugivores. The relative importance of bird species as fruit consumers was investigated, and how their foraging activities, movements and gut treatment of seeds affected dispersal of viable seeds away from the parent plant was examined. Fruit consumption and consumer seed dispersal capacity were assessed in this study through faecal analyses and by testing the viability of seeds that had passed through the gut of avian consumers. Behavioural observations enabled us to determine the consumption rates of, and quantities of fruit consumed by, various bird species and the amount of time spent feeding. Silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis) were the dominant fruit consumers in the community, although 19 bird species were either observed consuming fruit or provided faecal samples that contained fruit. Silvereyes had a high local abundance at the site and more than 90% of silvereyes’faecal samples contained the seeds of fruiting plants (n = 409). Large numbers of fruit were consumed per visit by silvereyes, particularly for Rhagodia parabolica (fragrant saltbush). Silvereyes consumed an average of four R. parabolica fruit per 5 s and up to a maximum 40 fruit per visit. Viability was high for seeds recovered from silvereyes’faeces (R. parabolica, 94.4% viable; Hymenanthera dentata, 100% viable). However, the number of seeds per faecal sample was high for R. parabolica, which may result in density‐dependent seed mortality. Gut passage rate for silvereyes fed R. parabolica fruit in captivity was 31.5 ± 1.9 min. Silvereyes remained at fruiting plants for very short periods (average 50‐60 s) and in most cases moved away from the parent plant, primarily toward canopy trees. Given the short visit duration of silvereyes, individuals would have left the parent plant well before seeds passed through the gut. Rhagodia parabolica fruit was consumed by a large number of bird species in the community, including species often thought of as exclusively insectivorous or nectarivorous. These species are likely to disperse viable R. parabolica seeds into microhabitats different from those visited by silvereyes.