Heterotrophic succession of invertebrate assemblages on fallen guava fruits in a tropical grove
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Fallen fleshy fruits are short-lived resource patches that can support diverse but transient invertebrate assemblages, yet their successional dynamics remain poorly documented in tropical human-modified landscapes. We examined heterotrophic succession on fallen ripe guava fruits, Psidium guajava, in a tropical grove in Barasat, West Bengal, India. Eight fruits were placed in exposed and shaded microhabitats and followed from fresh to degraded stages over 22 days. Invertebrates were recorded using repeated scan sampling, and fruit-day data were analysed for taxon richness, Shannon diversity, total peak relative abundance, community composition and stage-associated indicator taxa. Across 141 fruit-days, we recorded 44 invertebrate taxa. Taxon richness, Shannon diversity and total peak relative abundance were highest during fresh and pre-rotten stages and declined sharply during post-rotten and degraded stages. Decomposition stage was the strongest predictor of alpha diversity, resource-use intensity and community composition, whereas exposed–shaded microhabitat differences were weaker. Indicator taxa showed clear successional replacement: fresh fruits were associated with drosophilid and tephritid flies; fresh and pre-rotten fruits with nitidulid beetles and ants; and later stages with collembolans, staphylinids, blattodeans and other detrital-stage taxa. Ants, especially Pheidole sp., were conspicuous resource users and showed guarding, hoarding, predation and pulp or seed removal behaviour, although their effects on other taxa remain observational. These results show that fallen guava fruits function as ephemeral heterotrophic resource patches, supporting rapid invertebrate turnover at fine temporal scales in a tropical grove.
Authors: Sourabh Biswas, Silanjan Bhattacharyya
Language: English
Subfield: Insect Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDGs: Life on land, Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7220707607