Resource tracking and its conservation implications for an obligate frugivore (Procnias tricarunculatus, the three-wattled bellbird)

In Monteverde, Costa Rica, the vulnerable Three-wattled Bellbird (Procnias tricarunculatus) feeds primarily upon the fruit of Lauraceae species during its reproductive and post-reproductive seasons. To understand and advance appropriate conservation measures, this study identified the bellbird’s foraging challenges in its search for a temporally and spatially fluctuating resource. Although there are at least 96 species of Lauraceae found in the five life zones of Monteverde, the distinct distributions of tree species both among and within life zones require the bellbirds to track seasonal fruiting across the various zones. In this six-year study, we monitored the fruiting of tree species and bellbird abundance in 24 study plots within its post-reproductive life zone, the Premontane Wet forest, in order to identify preferred bellbird food resources and how the fruiting of these species drives the spatial distribution of the bellbird. Our research revealed phenological patterns of ann...