Correlations between growth form, habitat, and fruit colour in the New Zealand flora, with reference to frugivory by lizards

Abstract

In New Zealand, frugivory by lizards has been linked to white or pale to sky‐blue hit colours, and divaricate growth forms. Frugivory by lizards might also be expected to be associated with small fruit size, and exposed habitats where dispersal to a moist microsite is crucial to seedling survival. This study tests for correlations between fruit colour and other plant attributes in the New Zealand fleshy‐fruited flora consistent with these predictions. Among New Zealand fleshy‐fruited species, we found that white and blue fruit colours were significantly associated with shrub and divaricate growth forms, small fruit size, open habitats, and montane to alpine altitudinal distributions. Within shrubs and subshrubs, white and blue fruit colours were associated with small fruit size, and with open habitats if Coprosma species were excluded. These results provide some support for the hypothesis that for shrubby species in open habitats, frugivory by lizards may have played a part in the evolution of small pale fruits.

Keywords:

• fruit colour
• fruit size
• frugivory
• growth form
• lizard
• New Zealand