Leah Card

                           M.A. Conservation Biology, in progress

Assessing fruit availability for generalist frugivores in the Kakamega Forest, Kenya

While many studies have aimed to estimate fruit availability per individual tree and across a habitat to better understand the foraging ecology of frugivores, the methods used are numerous and often rely on the assumption that relationships among parameters, such as diameter at breast height (DBH), crown volume, and fruit production, are similar across all tree species. In this study, I evaluated various methods commonly used to estimate fruit availability by comparing assessments within single species based on fruit yield (g of fruit /tree crown), DBH of the trunk, and estimated crown volume for each of 11 tree species that are important food resources for a generalist frugivorous primate, the blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis). I also recorded the disturbance level and the location of the tree (forest edge vs. interior) and related them to fruit production. To compare fruit production across the four home ranges, I conducted transect surveys in each range, and used this survey information to compare food tree density, diversity and size. I then combined these vegetation survey data with assessments of fruit production and phenology patterns to assess overall annual fruit production in each home range.

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