Co fruiting plant species share similar fruit and seed traits while phylogenetic patterns vary through time
Summary 1.Co fruiting plant species are subject to a variety of biotic and abiotic processes that may influence patterns of fruiting phenology and the functional and phylogenetic diversity of co fruiting taxa in a community. Understanding the seasonal patterns of functional and phylogenetic diversity of fruiting in a community will shed new light on potential mechanisms structuring plant communities. 2.Using rainforest trees in south eastern Madagascar as our system, we predicted there would be clustering of fruit and seed traits and phylogenetic relationships among co fruiting species because plants are vying for seed dispersal services from a limited set of generalist frugivore taxa. We also predicted that seasonal variations in rainfall would mediate fluctuations in functional trait and phylogenetic diversity of co fruiting assemblages. 3.Despite fluctuating patterns in their functional trait diversity over time, co fruiting assemblages displayed consistent clustering of fruit/seed traits across time. Phylogenetic diversity was not clustered overall, but fluctuated non randomly, in time between clustered and overdispersed, such that strong shifts in rainfall were associated with the co fruiting of more closely related species. 4.Synthesis: We suggest that it may be more beneficial for co fruiting plant species to share similar fruit and seed traits than to diversify traits, when they rely on a comparatively small set of generalist frugivorous taxa for seed dispersal. Results also demonstrate that rainfall driven environmental filtering may cause seasonal fluctuations in the phylogenetic patterns of phenology in a community. Results highlight the importance of a temporal context in examining structural patterns of communities. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.