Nutrient Source: Saguaro is not only the most frequent item in the dove's diet (Fig. 2), it is also the primary source of incorporated carbon for a large fraction of the breeding season (Fig. 3).  In July, during the peak of saguaro fruit consumption, the isotopic composition of the doves' tissues was almost indistinguishable from that of saguaro.   In other words, during this time of year, doves are deriving nearly all of their nutrients from saguaro fruit.  In fact, the distribution of breeding western white-winged doves broadly coincides with the distribution of saguaros in Arizona and Sonora (Cottam and Trefethen 1968, Turner et al. 1995).

Water Source: Two isotopically distinct sources of water are available for desert-dwelling white-winged doves: the nectar and fruit of saguaro, and surface water in man-made tanks and in tinajas (natural water catchments).  We have found that the water from the nectar and fruit of the saguaro is greatly enriched in deuterium, a heavy isotope of hydrogen, relative to surface water (Table 9).  The body water of white-winged doves becomes deuterium-enriched with increased incorporation of saguaro carbon (Fig. 4).  Thus, white-winged doves derive water as well as nutrients from saguaro.

The Benefit of White-winged Doves to Saguaros
Pollination: Western white-winged doves visit both the flowers and fruit of saguaros, and they are both pollinators and seed dispersers.  When saguaros are in bloom, white-winged doves visit their flowers frequently and appear to carry large pollen loads (Fig. 5).  Only saguaro pollen was found on white-winged doves, and these doves are the most frequent avian visitors to the saguaro's flowers and fruit (Haughey 1986).  They have also been observed to visit saguaro flowers an order of magnitude more frequently than nectar bats (Fleming et al.1996).  The only species found visiting saguaro flowers more frequently on some sites is the European (domestic) honey bee  (Apis mellifera L.) (Schmidt and Buchmann 1986, Fleming et al. 1996).  White-winged doves are clearly important pollinators of saguaros. 

Dispersal?: These doves also consume saguaro fruit, which is filled with saguaro seeds.  They regurgitate saguaro fruit pulp to their squabs (Neff 1940, Wolf and Martínez del Rio unpublished data) and, in the messy process, some seeds fall intact beneath their nests (Olin et al. 1989).  Desert-dwelling white-winged doves nest in large trees such as mesquites (Prosopis sp.), palo verdes (Cercidium sp.), and ironwoods (Olneya tesota), which serve as nurse plants for saguaro seedlings (McAuliffe 1984).  It has therefore been hypothesized that doves may play an important saguaro seed dispersal role (Olin et al. 1989, Sosa 1997).  However, direct corroboration of this hypothesis has not yet been achieved.

Seed Predation: The white-winged dove has a powerful gizzard (Goodwin 1983) and they destroy the vast majority of the saguaro seeds that they ingest (reviewed by Sosa 1997).  Also, relative to the number of seeds destroyed by doves after ingestion, the number of seeds dropped under nests is minute.  Olin et al. (1989) reported that the number of seeds spilled under nests ranged from 57 to 675 per season.  A single dove ingests approximately 3,400 g of saguaro fruit pulp in a season, containing about 280,000 seeds (Wolf and Martínez del Rio 2000).  Thus, even though white-winged doves are the most important consumers of saguaro fruit pulp, they are better characterized as seed predators than as seed dispersers.  The bulk of effective saguaro seed dispersal is probably performed by birds with gentler guts, such as Gila woodpeckers (Melanerpes uropygialis), verdins (Auriparus flaviceps), ash-throated flycatchers (Myiarchus cinerascens), curve-billed thrashers (Toxostoma curvirostre), and cactus wrens (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus; Sosa 1997) and bats.  Therefore, saguaros and white-winged doves maintain a lopsided interaction.

CONCLUSIONS

Migration Corridors

• Western white-winged doves travel from their wintering grounds (southern Sinaloa, to Guerrero and Oaxaca) to the Sonoran Desert arriving as saguaros begin blooming in April. 
  

• White-winged doves appear to fly directly from wintering to breeding grounds and vice versa.  They travel north in the spring along the Pacific coastal plains and along the foothills of the Sierra Madre. The return trip south to the wintering grounds is primarily along the foothills and mountains of the Sierra Madre (Map 9).
  

• In the northern most part of the dove's range (the Sonoran Desert), breeding western white-winged dove distribution broadly overlaps the distribution of saguaros.

Floral Resources

• Saguaros are crucial for the productivity and persistence of white-winged dove populations in the Sonoran Desert.

• Saguaros are the primary source of incorporated carbon for most of the breeding season.

  • In July (peak of saguaro fruit consumption), the isotopic composition of the doves' tissues is almost indistinguishable from that of saguaros.

  • Doves also obtain significant amounts of water from saguaros. 

• White-winged doves are saguaro specialists and provide important pollination services to the saguaro.

• However, while doves are the most important consumers of saguaro fruit pulp, they are better characterized as seed predators than seed dispersers.

• Thus, saguaros and desert-dwelling western white-winged doves maintain a tight, but asymmetrical ecological interaction.