Francisco Rodriguez-SanchezNew data paper in Ecology reporting >10000 #frugivory interaction events between 59 vertebrate species (46 birds, 13 mammals) and 339 plant individuals from 13 different plant species in DoΓ±ana, Southern Spain, obtained with #CameraTraps:
Lukas VFN πͺπΊ#Paleontologists discover #fossil #birds with teeth had #seeds in their stomachs, indicating that they ate fruit
https://phys.org/news/2024-09-paleontologists-fossil-birds-teeth-seeds.html
Direct evidence of #frugivory in the #Mesozoic #bird Longipteryx contradicts morphological proxies for diet: Jingmai OβConnor et al. https://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(24)01124-2
"Since #Longipteryx lived in a temperate #climate, it probably wasn't eating #fruits year-round... it had a mixed diet which included things like #insects when fruits weren't available."
Paleontologists discover fossil birds with teeth had seeds in their stomachs, indicating that they ate fruit
For paleontologists who study animals that lived long ago, fossilized remains tell only part of the story of an animal's life. While a well-preserved skeleton can provide hints at what an ancient animal ate or how it moved, irrefutable proof of these behaviors is hard to come by. But sometimes, scientists luck out with extraordinary fossils that preserve something beyond the animal's body.
Peter StewartGetting some good #frugivory observations on the #CameraTraps, like this #elephant here.
Elephants are thought to be one of the key dispersers of Opuntia seeds in the region - in heavily-invaded areas it's common to see piles of elephant dung which are stained purple by the fruit!
This image is from a new batch which will be making its way to #PricklyPearProjectKenya on #Zooniverse soon.
#Ecology #Conservation #Research #CameraTrap #TrailCam #Wildlife #Nature
Chris FriesenThere is a robin helping itself to the berries on my Virginia Creeper vine, and other as-yet unidentified #birds partaking of the chokecherries that we left on our trees. #frugivory in action with #endozoochory soon to come!
It warms my heart to see the #NativePlants in my yard being part of the local #ecosystem.