Sugar composition of wild fruits in Hong Kong, China

Abstract

Soluble carbohydrates are the major nutritional reward in the pulp of most vertebrate dispersed fruits (Corlett 1996, Herrera 1987, Johnson et al. 1985, Jordano 1995). However, although detailed analyses have been made of the carbohydrate content of many cumtivated fruits (e.g. Nagy et al. 1990, Widdowson & McCance 1935), most studies of wild fruits have only quantified total soluble carbohydrates (e.g. Conklin & Wrangham 1994, Corlett 1996, Foster & McDiarmid 1983, Herrera 1987, Izhaki 1992). This is unfortunate because relatively minor differences in the chemical structure of nutrients can have profound implications for frugivorous animals (Martinez del Rio & Restrepo 1993), and the fruit choices of these animals in turn, may have major implications for the abundance and distribution of the plant species.