10.5061/DRYAD.GF1VHHMK8
Potts, Kevin
0000-0002-2066-8230
Arizona State University
Watts, David
Yale University
Langergraber, Kevin
Arizona State University
Mitani, John
0000-0001-7042-5854
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Tree phenology and abiotic variables 1998-2017 at Ngogo, Kibale National
Park, Uganda
Dryad
dataset
2020
National Geographic Society
https://ror.org/04bqh5m06
Leakey Foundation
https://ror.org/018kdpd27
Primate Conservation
https://ror.org/01f3z1j62
National Cancer Institute
https://ror.org/040gcmg81
RO1AG049395
Arizona State University
https://ror.org/03efmqc40
Wenner-Gren Foundation
https://ror.org/04qvvhf62
Max Planck Society
https://ror.org/01hhn8329
Yale University
https://ror.org/03v76x132
Boston University
https://ror.org/05qwgg493
American Society of Primatologists
https://ror.org/04j0s0m53
National Science Foundation
https://ror.org/021nxhr62
BCS‐0215622,IOB‐0516644,SBR‐9253590
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
https://ror.org/00jmfr291
2020-12-23T00:00:00Z
2020-12-23T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12764
15199625 bytes
4
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Fruit production in tropical forests varies considerably in space and
time, with important implications for frugivorous consumers.
Characterizing temporal variation in forest productivity is thus critical
for understanding adaptations of tropical forest frugivores, yet long-term
phenology data from the tropics, in particular from African forests, are
still scarce. Similarly, as the abiotic factors driving phenology in the
tropics are predicted to change with a warming climate, studies
documenting the relationship between climatic variables and fruit
production are increasingly important. Here we present data from 19 years
of monitoring the phenology of 20 tree species at Ngogo in Kibale National
Park, Uganda. Our aims were to characterize short- and long-term trends in
productivity and to understand the abiotic factors driving temporal
variability in fruit production. Short-term (month-to-month) variability
in fruiting was relatively low at Ngogo, and overall fruit production
increased significantly through the first half of the study. Among the
abiotic variables we expected to influence phenology patterns (including
rainfall, solar irradiance, and average temperature), only average
temperature was a significant predictor of monthly fruit production. We
discuss these findings as they relate to the resource base of the
frugivorous vertebrate community inhabiting Ngogo.
Fruit presence was monitored monthly between 1998 and 2017 in 717 trees
located along a permanent phenology trail. 400 of these trees belonging to
species of importance in the diet of chimpanzees and other frugivores were
analyzed in this study. We calculated, for each month of the study, a ripe
fruit score (RFS), based on a combination of the percentage of stems of
species X fruiting in month i and the density of species X in the habitat.
Details of this methodology can be found in the accompanying paper. We
gathered rainfall and temperature data directly in the research camp
during each morning of the study period. We obtained irradiance data for
the Ngogo research site from the Helio-Clim3 Database of Daily Solar
Irradiance (maintained by MINES ParisTech-Armines;
http://www.soda-is.com).