Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Emu Emu Society
Journal of BirdLife Australia
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MU > MU03060
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 104(4)

Seed dispersal by Pacific Pigeons (Ducula pacifica) in Tonga, Western Polynesia

Kim R. McConkey A D , Hayley J. Meehan A C and Donald R. Drake B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand.

B Botany Department, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 3190 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.

C Present address: ERMA New Zealand, PO Box 131, Wellington, New Zealand.

D Corresponding author. Present address: A. V. Ramarao Research Foundation, 7-102/54 Sai Enclave, Habshiguda, Hyderabad 500007, India. Email: kimm@sancharnet.in

Emu 104(4) 369-376 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU03060
Submitted: 17 December 2003  Accepted: 14 September 2004   Published: 16 December 2004

Abstract

Owing to extensive prehistoric extinctions of large frugivores, Pacific Pigeons (Ducula pacifica) are thought to be one of the most important seed dispersers of large-seeded plants in Tonga, yet little is known about their interactions with their food plants. We reviewed their known food plants and recorded defaecations, regurgitations, and movement patterns of this species over 11 months in Tonga. The fruit of at least 38 native plant species and the leaf buds of one species are eaten by Pacific Pigeons in Tonga. Most defaecations and all regurgitations contained a single seed of a single species. Pigeons usually regurgitated seeds larger than 20 mm in diameter whereas smaller seeds were typically defaecated. On the basis of observed movement patterns in Tonga and retention times for Ducula, most seeds are probably dispersed away from fruiting trees (85% of regurgitated seeds, 99% of defaecated seeds), but within 50 m of the crown. Distances of more than 100 km are theoretically possible for defaecated seeds, although pigeon behaviour is likely to limit this maximum. Results from this study suggest Pacific Pigeons are excellent seed dispersers in Tonga.


Acknowledgments

We thank Filipe Tonga, Leigh Bull, Rachel McClellan, Nic Gorman, Nola Parsons, Siaila Fonua, Richard and Ana, Pat and Keith McKee, Tavake Tonga, Tevita Mose, Claudia and Lofia Matavalea from the Tongan Wildlife Centre and three anonymous reviewers, for help with logistics, data collection and discussions. For research permits we thank the Government of Tonga. This research was funded by grants and scholarships provided by The School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington; The Explorers Club, New York; Stratex Networks, Wellington; and the Hutt Valley Women’s Federation.


References

Auspurger, C. K. , and Kelly, C. K. (1984). Pathogen mortality of tropical tree seedlings: experimental studies of the effects of distance, seedling density, and light conditions. Oecologia 61, 211–217.
Christophersen E. (1935). ‘Flowering Plants of Samoa.’ Bulletin 128. (Bernice P. Bishop Museum: Honolulu.)

Corlett, R. T. (1998). Frugivory and seed dispersal by vertebrates in the Oriental (Indomalayan) region. Biological Review 73, 413–448.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Goodwin D. (1970). ‘Pigeons and Doves of the World.’ (British Museum of Natural History: London.)

Hamilton, M. B. (1999). Tropical tree gene flow and seed dispersal. Nature 401, 129.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Hoffmeister J. E. (1932). Geology of ’Eua, Tonga. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin, Honolulu, Bulletin 96.

Howe, H. F. (1981). Dispersal of a Neotropical nutmeg (Virola sebifera) by birds. Auk 98, 88–98.
Kinsky F. C., and Yaldwyn J. C. (1981). The bird fauna of Niue Island, south-west Pacific, with special notes on the White-tailed Tropic Bird and Golden Plover. National Museum of New Zealand, Miscellaneous Series 2.

Kitamura, S. , Yumoto, T. , Poonswad, P. , Chuailua, P. , Plongmai, K. , Maruhashi, T. , and Noma, N. (2002). Interactions between fleshy fruits and frugivores in a tropical seasonal forest in Thailand. Oecologia 133, 559–572.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Koopman K. F., and Steadman D. W. (1995). Extinction and biogeography of bats on ’Eua, Kingdom of Tonga. American Museum Novitates, No. 3125.

Lambert, F. R. (1989). Pigeons as seed predators and dispersers of figs in a Malaysian lowland forest. Ibis 131, 521–527.
Leighton M. (1982). Fruit resources and patterns of feeding, spacing and grouping among sympatric Bornean hornbills (Bucerotidae). Ph.D. Thesis, Stanford University, CA.

McConkey K. R., and Drake D. R. (2002). Extinct pigeons and declining bat populations: Are large seeds still being dispersed in the tropical Pacific? In ‘Frugivory and Seed Dispersal: Ecological, Evolutionary and Conservation Perspectives’. (Eds D. J. Levey, W. Silva and M. Galetti.) pp. 381–396. (CAB International: Wallingford)

McConkey, K. R. , Aldy, F. , Ario, A. , and Chivers, D. J. (2002). Selection of fruit by gibbons (Hylobates mulleri x agilis) in the rain forests of central Borneo. International Journal of Primatology 23, 123–145.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Meehan H. J. (2002). Pigeons and rainforest trees in Tonga: their interdependence in shrinking forest remnants. M.Sc. Thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Meehan, H. J. , McConkey, K. R. , and Drake, D. R. (2002). Potential disruptions to seed dispersal mutualisms in Tonga, Western Polynesia. Journal of Biogeography 29, 695–712.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Nunn P. D. (1994). ‘Oceanic Islands.’ (Blackwell: Oxford.)

Parham B. E. V. (1972). Plants of Samoa. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Botany Division, Information Series 85.

Pratt H. D., Bruner P. L., and Berrett D. G. (1999). ‘The Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific.’ (Princeton University Press: Princeton.)

Rainey, W. E. , Pierson, E. D. , Elmqvist, T. , and Cox, P. A. (1995). The role of flying foxes (Pteropodidae) in oceanic island ecosystems of the Pacific. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 67, 79–96.
Watling D. (1982). ‘Birds of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.’ (Millwood Press: Wellington, New Zealand.)

Webb, S. L. , and Willson, M. F. (1985). Spatial heterogeneity in post-dispersal predation on Prunus and Uvularia seeds. Oecologia 67, 150–153.


Westcott, D. A. , and Graham, D. L. (2000). Patterns of movement and seed dispersal of a tropical frugivore. Oecologia 122, 249–257.


Whitmee, S. J. (1875). List of Samoan birds, with notes on their habits. Ibis 1875, 436–447.


Whittaker, R. J. , Jones, S. H. , and Partomihardjo, T. (1997). The rebuilding of an isolated rain forest assemblage: how disharmonic is the flora of Krakatau? Biodiversity and Conservation 6, 1671–1696.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Wodzicki, K. , and Laird, M. (1970). Birds and bird lore in the Tokelau Islands. Notornis 17, 247–276.