We investigated, during 14 months, patterns of fruit production of animal dispersed angiosperms in a patch of Mixed Ombrophilous Forest (MOF) in the National Park of Aparados da Serra, State of Rio Grande do Sul, south Brazil. For a total of 570 individuals sampled in a 2.56 ha area we identified 27 species of animal dispersed angiosperms (13 families). The most abundant families were: Myrtaceae (eight species), Melastomataceae, Solanaceae, and Rubiaceae (three species each). Most sampled life forms were shrubs (46.0% of all individuals 37.0% of species total), followed by treelets (31.9% and 22.2%), herbs (10.2% and 18.5%), trees (8.7% and 18.5%), and epiphytes (3.2% and 3.7%). Red (22.2%) and orange (18.5%) fruits prevailed, as well as small fruits (70% of fruit total with size of 1-10 mm × 1-10 mm), and fruits with one to ten small seeds (96% of total species with seed size of 1-10 mm × 1-10 mm). The three species that produced the greatest amount of fruits were: Myrceugenia miersiana (Gardner) D. Legrand & Kausel (Myrtaceae) (tree - 61.0% of total production of fruits), and the melastomes Leandra variabilis Cogn. (shrub - 18.1%) and Miconia cinerascens Miq. (shrub - 8.6%). These species showed an aggregated dispersion pattern (Standardized Morisita index > 0.5 for all of them). The monthly number of fruiting species was significantly correlated with monthly temperature in the same month (r s = 0,70; p < 0,01), and with rainfall in the previous month (r s = 0,67; p < 0,02). The seed production of Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze occurred during the period with the lowest number of angiosperm species producing animal-dispersed fruits. This non-overlapping between events might favor the occurrence of frugivorous animals, enabling a higher resource offer during the entire year.
fruit production; Mixed Ombrophilous Forest; phenology; spatial distribution; zoochory
