Amanda S Gallinat1, Richard B Primack1, Charles G Willis2,3, Birgit Nordt4, Albert-Dieter Stevens4, Robert Fahey5,6, Alan T Whittemore7, Yanjun Du8, Zoe A Panchen9. 1. Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA. 2. Department of Biology Teaching and Learning, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55108, USA. 3. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, USA. 4. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, Freie Universitat Berlin, Berlin, 14195, Germany. 5. Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, 06269, USA. 6. The Morton Arboretum, Center for Tree Science, Lisle, Illinois, 60532, USA. 7. U. S. National Arboretum, Washington, District of Columbia, 20002, USA. 8. Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China. 9. Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z2, Canada.
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: To improve our understanding of the patterns and drivers of fleshy fruit phenology, we examined the sequence, patterns across years and locations, and drivers of fruiting times at five botanical gardens on three continents. METHODS: We monitored four stages of fruit phenology for 406 temperate, fleshy-fruited, woody plant species in 2014 and 2015. KEY RESULTS: Across all gardens, ripe fruits were present from May to March of the following year, with peak fruiting durations ranging from under 1 week to over 150 days. Species-level first fruiting and onset of peak fruiting dates were strongly associated with one another within sites and were more consistent between years and sites than the end of peak fruiting and last fruiting date. The order of fruiting among species between years and gardens was moderately consistent, and both peak fruiting times and fruiting durations were found to be phylogenetically conserved. CONCLUSIONS: The consistent order of fruiting among species between years and locations indicates species-specific phenological responses to environmental conditions. Wide variation in fruiting times across species and in the duration of peak fruiting reinforces the importance of understanding how plant phenology impacts dispersers and monitoring the health and consistency of these interactions.
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: To improve our understanding of the patterns and drivers of fleshy fruit phenology, we examined the sequence, patterns across years and locations, and drivers of fruiting times at five botanical gardens on three continents. METHODS: We monitored four stages of fruit phenology for 406 temperate, fleshy-fruited, woody plant species in 2014 and 2015. KEY RESULTS: Across all gardens, ripe fruits were present from May to March of the following year, with peak fruiting durations ranging from under 1 week to over 150 days. Species-level first fruiting and onset of peak fruiting dates were strongly associated with one another within sites and were more consistent between years and sites than the end of peak fruiting and last fruiting date. The order of fruiting among species between years and gardens was moderately consistent, and both peak fruiting times and fruiting durations were found to be phylogenetically conserved. CONCLUSIONS: The consistent order of fruiting among species between years and locations indicates species-specific phenological responses to environmental conditions. Wide variation in fruiting times across species and in the duration of peak fruiting reinforces the importance of understanding how plant phenology impacts dispersers and monitoring the health and consistency of these interactions.