Differential seed dispersal patterns generated by a common assemblage of vertebrate frugivores in three fleshy-fruited trees

Martínez, Isabel; García, Daniel; Obeso, José Ramón

doi:10.2980/15-2-3096

Cited by 83 publications

(134 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…in west Europe: blackbird Turdus merula, fieldfare Turdus pilaris, mistle thrush Turdus viscivorus, redwing Turdus iliacus, song thrush Turdus philomelos, and ring-ouzel Turdus torquatus. Some of these (T. pilaris, T. iliacus and T. torquatus) are overwintering species in northern Spain, whereas others (T. merula, T. viscivorus and T. philomelos) are resident species which are joined by overwintering migrant individuals [30]. All thrushes swallow the entire fruits, defecating the intact seeds in their faeces (i.e.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species richness matters for the quality of ecosystem services: a test using seed dispersal by frugivorous birds

2012

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The positive link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is a current paradigm in ecological science. However, little is known of how different attributes of species assemblages condition the quality of many services in real ecosystems affected by human impact. We explore the links between the attributes of a frugivore assemblage and the quantitative and qualitative components of its derived ecosystem service, seed dispersal, along a landscape-scale gradient of anthropogenic forest loss. Both the number and the richness of seeds being dispersed were positively related to frugivore abundance and richness. Seed dispersal quality, determined by the fine-scale spatial patterns of seed deposition, mostly depended on frugivore richness. In fact, richness was the only attribute of the frugivore assemblage affecting the probability of seed dispersal into deforested areas of the landscape. The positive relationships between frugivore richness per se (i.e. independent of frugivore abundance and composition) and all components of seed dispersal suggest the existence of functional complementarity and/or facilitation between frugivores. These links also point to the whole assemblage of frugivores as a conservation target, if we aim to preserve a complete seed dispersal service and, hence, the potential for vegetation regeneration and recovery, in human-impacted landscapes.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species richness matters for the quality of ecosystem services: a test using seed dispersal by frugivorous birds

2012

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“…Lehouck, Spanhove, Vangestel, Cordeiro, & Lens 2009;García, Zamora, & Amico 2010;Blendinger et al 2012). In our study system, the flocking behavior of most thrush species, together with their almost exclusively fruitbased diet (Guitián et al 2000;Martínez et al 2008), are traits that would promote active fruit resource tracking.…”

Section: General Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All species show an overlapping ripening period in early autumn, with their fruits staying on the tree until mid-winter. These fruits are mainly consumed by thrushes: blackbird Turdus merula, fieldfare Turdus pilaris, mistle thrush Turdus viscivorus, redwing Turdus iliacus, song thrush Turdus philomelos, and ring-ouzel Turdus torquatus (Martínez, García, & Obeso 2008). T. pilaris, T. iliacus and T. torquatus are over-wintering species in Northern Spain, whereas T. merula, T. viscivorus and T. philomelos are species with resident populations that are joined by individual overwintering migrants.…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They swallow the entire fruit, sometimes regurgitating them but more frequently expelling the intact seeds in their feces, thereby acting as legitimate seed dispersers (Jordano 2000). Mammals contribute to tree seed dispersal, although to a considerably lesser extent than thrushes (Martínez et al 2008;Peredo, Martínez, Rodríguez-Pérez, & García 2013). …”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These species show territoriality and a mostly insectivorous diet through spring and summer, but they show aggregative and flocking behavior during autumn and winter, when they rely mostly on fleshy fruits for food (Snow & Snow 1988). All thrush species feed upon all different tree fruits present in the secondary forest (Martínez et al 2008;García et al 2013). They swallow the entire fruit, sometimes regurgitating them but more frequently expelling the intact seeds in their feces, thereby acting as legitimate seed dispersers (Jordano 2000).…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disentangling habitat use by frugivorous birds: Constant interactive effects of forest cover and fruit availability

Martínez

García

2015

Basic and Applied Ecology

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Frugivorous animals contribute to forest regeneration, but the provision of this ecosystem service is spatially filtered by the environmental factors limiting frugivore habitat use. Understanding how this filter acts in real-world landscapes is crucial for better predicting how habitat degradation impacts on seed dispersal services. Fruits and forest cover are main determinants of habitat use by frugivorous birds. The degree of spatial segregation between these habitat features would be expected to determine a trade-off for frugivores between finding food and being safe. Nevertheless, little is known about how such a trade-off may finally affect frugivore habitat use. We studied frugivorous bird habitat use in a landscape representing a gradient of forest loss and fragmentation in the Cantabrian Range (N Spain). For four years we evaluated the spatial patterns of the abundances of frugivorous birds, fruits, and forest cover. Both fruits and forest cover influenced bird habitat use in each year. However, we also found a consistent across-years interaction between the effects of forest cover and fruits. In each study year fruit tracking by frugivores increased in landscape sectors presenting sparce forest cover and vice versa, but that intense search for food or shelter weakened in those areas with dense forest cover and abundant fruits respectively. The simultaneous consideration of the different environmental factors limiting frugivore habitat use revealed long-term, complex landscape effects, which are expected to cascade into fine-grained variability of the spatial patterns of seed rain. Zusammenfassung

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Seed Dispersal

Nathan

Bullock

Ronce

et al. 2009

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

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On line EncyclopediaThe sedentary life of adult plants accentuates the critical importance of the short phase during which individual plants move: the dispersal of seeds, a common, widespread and fascinating phenomenon. Ultimately, selective pressures favouring dispersal include inbreeding avoidance, reduction of competition with kin and nonkin and the tracking of establishment opportunities in time and space. Proximately, dispersal mechanisms include nonrandom release from the mother plant, and transport by multiple dispersal vectors not necessarily those inferred from the seed morphology. The resulting patterns, often described by dispersal kernes, typically show a decline in seed deposition with distance from the source and a tail of long-distance dispersal events. Dispersal has important consequences for the fate of individuals, populations, communities and ecosystems, enabling metapopulations and metacommunities to persist and playing a critical role in shaping the evolutionary and plastic response of plants to changing environments

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Differential seed dispersal patterns generated by a common assemblage of vertebrate frugivores in three fleshy-fruited trees

Cited by 83 publications

References 74 publications

Species richness matters for the quality of ecosystem services: a test using seed dispersal by frugivorous birds

Species richness matters for the quality of ecosystem services: a test using seed dispersal by frugivorous birds

Disentangling habitat use by frugivorous birds: Constant interactive effects of forest cover and fruit availability

Seed Dispersal

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