Two models are developed which predict life-history adaptations resulting from intraspecific competition for avian dispersers. One suggests stabilizing selection for a rate of fruit production necessary to maintain a limited and specialized guild of dispersers. The other suggests directional selection for high fecundity which is mediated by intraspecific competition for a variety of opportunistic birds drawn from alternative sources of plant or animal food. Operational procedures are suggested which would test for the applicability of either model. Relevant literature is discussed.
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Howe et al. (1977) studied this question.