Nordic Society Oikos

Fruit Variation and Competition for Dispersers in Natural Populations of Smilax aspera
[Abstract]
Author(s): Carlos M. Herrera
Source: Ornis Scandinavica, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Aug., 1981), p. 147
Published by: Wiley on behalf of Nordic Society Oikos
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3676043 .
Accessed: 18/06/2014 08:25

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Wiley and Nordic Society Oikos are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Ornis
Scandinavica.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 08:25:19 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Tomialojc,L. 1974. A quantitativeanalysisof the breeding Voous,K. H. 1960.Atlasof Europeanbirds.- Nelson,Lon-
andwinter avifaunaoftheforestsinthevicinityofLegnica don.
(LowerSilesia).- ActaOrnith.14: 60-98. K. 1974. Breedingbirdsin thedeciduouswood-
Williamson,
S. 1975.Birdflocksinrelationto vegetation
Ulfstrand, diver- landsofMid-Argyll, Scotland.- BirdStudy21: 29-44.
in a SouthSwedishconiferous
sification plantation R. andWilliamson,
during Williamson, K. 1973.Thebirdcommunity
winter.- Oikos26: 65-73. ofyewwoodlandatKingley Vale,Sussex.- Brit.Birds66:
- 1976. Feedingnichesof somepasserinebirdsin a south 12-23.
Swedishconiferous plantationin winterand summer. - Zollinger,J. L. 1976. Etude qualitativeet quantitative
des
OrnisScand.7: 21-27. oiseauxde la for6tmixtedu S6pey,Cossonay(Vaud.).-
- 1977. The breedingbirdcommunity in a southSwedish Nos Oiseaux33: 290-321.
coniferous - Anser,Lund16: 43-52. Swedish;
plantation.
Englishsummary.
- and Nilsson,S. G. 1976. Quantitative composition and
foragingnichesofa passerinebirdguildinpineplantations
in Denmarkduring winter.- OrnisScand.7: 171-178.

Fruitvariationand competition
fordispersers
in natural
populationsofSmilaxaspera
CarlosM. Herrera
Herrera,C. M. 1981.Fruitvariation
andcompetition
fordispersers
innatural
popu-
lationsofSmilaxaspera.- Oikos36: 51-58.

Theberries ofSmilaxasperaL. (Liliaceae),a woodyclimber ofmediterranean scrub,

mayhave eitherone, two or threeseeds. One-seedfruits have the largest,and
three-seed thesmallest,pulp/seed ratio,so differently-seeded fruits
havea differen-
tialfeedingvaluetobirdsfeeding on them.In Andalusia, southern Spain,theoverall
proportions offruitswithdifferentseednumber wasfoundto varybetweenpopula-
tionsas wellas betweenindividuals ofthesamepopulation. S. asperafruiting season
overlapsextensively withthefruiting periodofmanyotherspeciesandall ofthem
sharethesamefewspeciesofbirddispersers. It was thenhypothesized thatinter-
population variationin fruitseed numbers was relatedto interspecific competition
amongplantsfordispersers. To testthishypothesis,twelvepopulations ofS. aspera
weresampledforfipefruits. For each sample,theproportions of one-,two-and
three-seedfruits weredetermined, anda setofenvironmental variableswasrecorded
at each sampling locality.
Multiplestepwise regression analysisshowsthatthebest
singlepredictor ofthemeannumber ofseedsperfruit is thenumber ofplantspecies
bearing fruits
simultaneously andequallyormoreabundant thanS. aspera.Assuming
thattheintensity ofcompetition amongplantspeciesfordispersers mustbe roughly
proportional to thenumber andpopulation sizesofcompetitor species,theseresults
suggestthatinter-population in thenumber
variation of seedsperfruit is actually
relatedto variationincompetitive pressures,provided that1) dispersers areinshort
supply,2) dispersersselectto someextentthemostprofitable and3) number
fruits,
ofseedshassomegeneticcomponent. Evidencesupporting thesethreeassumptions
is presented,thussuggesting thatobservedvariation in fruit seednumbers mustbe
attributedto interspecific
competition fordispersers amongplants.

Estaci6nBiol6gicade Doriana,Sevilla- 12,Andalucia,

C. M. Herrera, Spain.

ORNIS SCANDINAVICA 12:2 (1981) 147

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Wed, 18 Jun 2014 08:25:19 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions