Frugivory and seed dispersal in the Cerrado: Network structure and defaunation effects

Carvalho, Rodrigo Béllo; Malhi, Yadvinder; Menor, Imma Oliveras

doi:10.1111/btp.13234

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 138 publications

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“…Our lower species richness and abundance of birds in the forest may also be due to a lower survey completeness since the mist-nets only capture a subset of the community, especially small understory birds (Thiel et al, 2021). However, because small birds usually have a higher proportion of interactions in dispersal networks than other species (Béllo Carvalho et al, 2023;Carreira et al, 2020), our results may be representative of seed dispersers involved in interactions between both habitats. Furthermore, although bird species richness is commonly used to assess forest recovery, this indicator is not useful for discerning variations in F I G U R E 4 Rank-abundance curves for seed disperser communities of (a) birds, (b) bats, and (c) terrestrial mammals between forest and bracken-dominated areas.…”

Section: Birdsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Habitat differences in seed‐dispersing vertebrates indicate dispersal limitation in tropical bracken‐dominated deforested areas

Gallegos,

Mayta,

Villegas

et al. 2024

Biotropica

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Shifting agriculture and anthropogenic fires are among the main causes of deforestation in the tropics. After fire and land abandonment, vast deforested areas are commonly dominated by the bracken fern Pteridium for long periods. Although forest regeneration in bracken‐dominated areas is mainly hindered by dispersal limitation, little is known about the role of seed‐disperser communities in slow forest succession. Our objective was to unravel the differences in the properties of the seed‐disperser communities between forests and bracken‐dominated areas to assess their role in dispersal limitation to foster ecological restoration. We compared species richness, diversity, abundance, and composition of seed‐dispersing birds, bats, and medium and large terrestrial mammals between both habitats in a montane forest of Bolivia. The species richness and diversity were similar for bats and higher for birds in bracken‐dominated areas than in the forest, but species composition was different between both habitats and groups. Although species composition was similar between both habitats for terrestrial mammals, the abundance was higher in the forest than in bracken‐dominated areas. Differences in species composition of seed‐dispersing birds and bats could be one of the main causes of dispersal limitation in forest regeneration in tropical bracken‐dominated areas. The few shared species between both habitats could explain the low seed rain of animal‐dispersed forest tree species in bracken‐dominated areas and the consequent hindered forest regeneration. Future studies relevant to natural forest regeneration should focus on analyzing the effects of animal‐attractants such as perches, artificial bat‐roosts, and seedling transplants on disperser communities, seed dispersal effectiveness, and forest regeneration.Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.

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Section: Birdsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Habitat differences in seed‐dispersing vertebrates indicate dispersal limitation in tropical bracken‐dominated deforested areas

Gallegos,

Mayta,

Villegas

et al. 2024

Biotropica

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“…Despite the low abundance, these species store most of the carbon stocks of trees, reinforcing the importance of animals for the dispersal of these species in the CE and that CE presents a more moderate loss of animal dispersers when compared with RF and SDTF_SD (Carvalho et al, 2023).…”

Section: Carbon Storage By Dispersal Mode Across Vegetation Typesmentioning

confidence: 90%

Seed‐dispersal mode and habitat connectivity underpin variation in carbon stocking between Brazilian biomes

Gonçalves,

Grilo,

Edwards

et al. 2024

Journal of Ecology

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In tropical forests, about 60%–80% of woody plant species depend on animal–plant interactions for dispersal. The dependence on animal species for dispersal makes this interaction very fragile in the face of anthropogenic changes in land use. Disrupting seed‐dispersal processes, principally zoochoric dispersal, could significantly alter the long‐term carbon storage potential of tropical forests. An important question is how landscape structure changes tree carbon stocks in different types of tropical vegetation and how variation is mediated by the dispersal mode of animal (zoochoric) or abiotic (non‐zoochoric) seeds. We focused on tree plots at 126 sites in Brazil spanning four types of forest and savanna vegetation, and calculated carbon stored in zoochoric, non‐zoochoric, and large frugivore‐dispersed species. Our results showed that carbon stocks in zoochoric species and non‐zoochoric species differ significantly among vegetation types, with rainforests having higher stocks in zoochoric species and deciduous seasonally dry tropical forests having higher values in non‐zoochoric species. A greater area of native vegetation promotes higher proportions of carbon stocks dispersed by large frugivore species, whereas a higher mean shape index reduces this proportion. Synthesis. This study highlights that seed‐dispersal type underpins the variation in carbon stocks between vegetation types and that the maintenance of habitat of large dispersers and connectivity are key for retaining carbon stocks in zoochoric species, particularly in rainforest and cerrado sensu stricto.

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Local people enhance our understanding of Afrotropical frugivory networks

Durand-Bessart,

Akomo-Okoue,

Ebang Ella

et al. 2024

Current Biology

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Frugivory and seed dispersal in the Cerrado: Network structure and defaunation effects

Cited by 3 publications

References 138 publications

Habitat differences in seed‐dispersing vertebrates indicate dispersal limitation in tropical bracken‐dominated deforested areas

Habitat differences in seed‐dispersing vertebrates indicate dispersal limitation in tropical bracken‐dominated deforested areas

Seed‐dispersal mode and habitat connectivity underpin variation in carbon stocking between Brazilian biomes

Local people enhance our understanding of Afrotropical frugivory networks

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