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.