Frugivory and seed dispersal effectiveness in two<i>Miconia</i>(Melastomataceae) species from ferruginous<i>campo rupestre</i>

Santos, Alessandra M. O.; Jacobi, Claudia Maria; Silveira, Fernando A. O.

doi:10.1017/s0960258517000071

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…They can ingest whole fruits and effectively disperse seeds within their feces, but they also discard diaspores under parent plants by squeezing out the seeds during fruit handling or by dropping partially consumed fruits containing seeds. In fact, these patterns of fruit handling by birds have been previously documented for other Miconia species [ 28 , 30 , 38 ]. Moreover, we showed that most diaspores falling under parent plants comprise cleaned seeds ejected from the pulp or seeds inside the partially defleshed fruits.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

“…In addition, rodents and marsupials also consume Miconia fruits, acting as predators and seed dispersers [ 34 – 36 ]. Spontaneous germination of Miconia seeds within fruits is unlikely to occur [ 37 ], thus seed release from fleshy pulp by birds [ 37 , 38 ], small mammals [ 34 , 36 ] and ants [ 31 , 32 ] is essential for successful germination. Therefore, Miconia comprise an ideal model to explore the consequences of variation in diaspore handling by birds for secondary removal by ground-dwelling fauna.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Handling by avian frugivores affects diaspore secondary removal

et al. 2018

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The balance between the costs and benefits of fleshy fruit production depends on the feeding behavior of their seed dispersers, which might effectively disperse seeds to farther areas or drop beneath parent plants some diaspores they handle during frugivory bouts. Nevertheless, the consequences of variation in fruit handling by primary seed dispersers on the secondary removal of diaspores remains poorly understood. We conducted a field study to determine how variation in fruit handling by avian frugivores affects short-term secondary removal of Miconia irwinii (Melastomataceae) diaspores by the ground-dwelling fauna in campo rupestre vegetation, southeastern Brazil. We conducted factorial experiments manipulating: (1) different outcomes of primary fruit/seed removal by birds, (2) distances of diaspore deposition from conspecifics, and (3) the access of ants and vertebrates to diaspores. We showed that secondary removal of diaspores was highly variable at the population scale, with an overall low removal rate by the ground-dwelling fauna (13% seeds, 19% fruits). However, we found that gut-passed seeds embedded in bird feces were less removed than seeds expelled from fruits. Gut-passed seeds were more likely to be removed by ant species acting as secondary dispersers, whereas pulp-free seeds dropped by birds were likely to interact with potential seed predators, including ants and rodents. We found no clear effect of dispersal from parent plant vicinity on seed removal, but fruit removal was significantly higher near parent plants. Partially defleshed fruits were more removed than intact fruits. The removal of fruits by ant and vertebrate rescuers, including lizards and birds, might reduce the costs of interactions with less effective dispersers that drop partially defleshed fruits under parent plants. Our study highlights that variation in fruit handling by primary avian seed dispersers mediate subsequent interactions among discarded diaspores and ground-dwelling animals, potentially affecting final seed fates. Moreover, we argue that escape-related benefits of dispersal can be contingent on how primary dispersers handle and discard seeds.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Handling by avian frugivores affects diaspore secondary removal

et al. 2018

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“…In that context, the large seed size of the plant suggests that the identity of the dispersal vector in this example is important according to the functional groups we propose ( Table 1 ) ( McConkey et al 2018 ). By contrast, SDE of a suite of bird species was studied for two Miconia species in Brazil ( Santos et al 2017 ). Although the birds varied in the quantity of seeds they dispersed, they did not vary in quality of dispersal ( Santos et al 2017 ).…”

Section: Meaningful Functional Groups In Seed Dispersal Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By contrast, SDE of a suite of bird species was studied for two Miconia species in Brazil ( Santos et al 2017 ). Although the birds varied in the quantity of seeds they dispersed, they did not vary in quality of dispersal ( Santos et al 2017 ). Miconia species with their small seeds and large disperser suites (e.g.…”

Section: Meaningful Functional Groups In Seed Dispersal Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Employing plant functional groups to advance seed dispersal ecology and conservation

et al. 2019

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Seed dispersal enables plants to reach hospitable germination sites and escape natural enemies. Understanding when and how much seed dispersal matters to plant fitness is critical for understanding plant population and community dynamics. At the same time, the complexity of factors that determine if a seed will be successfully dispersed and subsequently develop into a reproductive plant is daunting. Quantifying all factors that may influence seed dispersal effectiveness for any potential seed-vector relationship would require an unrealistically large amount of time, materials and financial resources. On the other hand, being able to make dispersal predictions is critical for predicting whether single species and entire ecosystems will be resilient to global change. Building on current frameworks, we here posit that seed dispersal ecology should adopt plant functional groups as analytical units to reduce this complexity to manageable levels. Functional groups can be used to distinguish, for their constituent species, whether it matters (i) if seeds are dispersed, (ii) into what context they are dispersed and (iii) what vectors disperse them. To avoid overgeneralization, we propose that the utility of these functional groups may be assessed by generating predictions based on the groups and then testing those predictions against species-specific data. We suggest that data collection and analysis can then be guided by robust functional group definitions. Generalizing across similar species in this way could help us to better understand the population and community dynamics of plants and tackle the complexity of seed dispersal as well as its disruption.

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“…Moreover, species with similar SDE values suggest that these have similar consequences for the interaction, and may be thus considered functional equivalent. 7 Despite the increasing number of studies assessing quantity and quality components of SDE in birds, 13–17 studies have only made qualitative judgements about whether bird species are functional equivalent, based on the relative position and clustering of species onto the SDE landscape. 12,14,18 Therefore, a method to identify functional equivalent species within frugivore assemblages is still lacking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed dispersal effectiveness by frugivorous birds: Identifying functional equivalent species in bird assemblages

Palacio

2019

Avian Biology Research

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Seed dispersal by birds is a pivotal ecosystem function worldwide; yet, the rapid and ongoing global biodiversity loss poses a major threat to this essential ecosystem service. Seed dispersal effectiveness (SDE) is a key outcome of the interaction, represented by the product of seed dispersal quantity (number of seed dispersed) and quality (probability of recruitment of dispersed seeds). Therefore, identifying functional equivalent species in terms of SDE should become a key issue for bird conservation, since the effects of local extinctions on seed dispersal services may be weakened by remaining equivalent species. However, a method to quantitatively identify functional equivalent species in frugivorous bird assemblages is still lacking. To estimate SDE overlap between seed dispersers and assess whether two species may be functionally equivalent, I apply a novel nonparametric niche overlap index based on kernel functions and null models to test its statistical significance. For each bird species, I account for intraspecific variation in seed dispersal effectiveness to obtain a distribution of seed dispersal effectiveness values, an often neglected source of variation in seed dispersal assemblages. Non-significant differences in seed dispersal effectiveness overlap support the hypothesis that two species are functional equivalent, thus playing similar functional roles. The model proposed is applicable to any other quantity or quality component and is independent from the method or sampling design used to quantify SDE. The identification of functional equivalent species in seed dispersal assemblages adds to the theoretical framework of seed dispersal effectiveness and offers new insights into the ecology of the seed dispersal service provided by birds.

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Frugivory and seed dispersal effectiveness in twoMiconia(Melastomataceae) species from ferruginouscampo rupestre

Cited by 10 publications

References 43 publications

Handling by avian frugivores affects diaspore secondary removal

Handling by avian frugivores affects diaspore secondary removal

Employing plant functional groups to advance seed dispersal ecology and conservation

Seed dispersal effectiveness by frugivorous birds: Identifying functional equivalent species in bird assemblages

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