Data from: Frugivores and cheap fruits make fruiting fruitful

Animal seed dispersal provides an important ecosystem service by strongly benefiting plant communities. There are several theoretical studies on the ecology of plant-animal seed-disperser interactions, but few studies have explored the evolution of this mutualism. Moreover, these studies ignore plant life-history and frugivore foraging behavior. Thus, it remains an open question what the conditions for the diversification of fruit traits are, in spite of the multitude of empirical studies on fruit trait diversity. Here we study the evolution of fruit traits using a spatially-explicit individual-based model, which considers the costs associated with adaptations inducing dispersal by frugivory, as well as frugivore foraging behavior and abundance. Our model predicts that these costs are the main determinants of the evolution of fruit traits, and that when the costs are not very high, the evolution of larger fruit traits (e.g. fleshy/colorful fruits) is controlled by the choosiness and response thresholds of the frugivores as well as their numerical abundance.

动物种子传播（animal seed dispersal）是一项重要的生态系统服务，可为植物群落带来显著益处。目前已有多项针对植物-动物种子传播者互作生态学的理论研究，但极少有研究探索该互利共生关系的演化过程。此外，此类研究均忽略了植物生活史特征以及食果动物（frugivore）的觅食行为。尽管已有大量关于果实性状多样性的实证研究，但果实性状多样化所需的具体条件仍是一个悬而未决的科学问题。本研究采用空间显式个体模型（spatially-explicit individual-based model）探究果实性状的演化过程，该模型纳入了由食果传播适应性所带来的相关成本，同时也考虑了食果动物的觅食行为与种群丰度。模型预测显示，此类成本是果实性状演化的核心决定因素；当成本处于较低水平时，大尺寸果实（如肉质/彩色果实）的演化主要受食果动物的择食偏好、响应阈值及其种群丰度共同调控。