How does the functional diversity of frugivorous birds shape the spatial pattern of seed dispersal? A case study in a relict plant species

Lavabre, Jessica E.; Gilarranz, Luis J.; Bascompte, Jordi

doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0280

Cited by 23 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 67 publications

(113 reference statements)

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“…Consequently, assuming that the pollen and seed dispersal kernels do not vary between the study populations, the average relatedness between parents should be lower in denser populations. On the other hand, dispersal kernels can vary among different habitats due to differences in geomorphology that shape the wind dispersal of pollen (Katul & Poggi, ) or the structure of disperser communities that shape animal seed dispersal (Lavabre, Gilarranz, Fortuna, & Bascompte, ). The proposed method is well suited to test the link between those as well as other potential factors and levels of biparental inbreeding in natural yew populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bayesian quantification of ecological determinants of outcrossing in natural plant populations: Computer simulations and the case study of biparental inbreeding in English yew

2019

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The mating system is a central parameter of plant biology because it shapes their ecological and evolutionary properties. Therefore, determining ecological variables that influence the mating system is important for a deeper understanding of the functioning of plant populations. Here, using old concepts and recent statistical developments, we propose a new statistical tool to make inferences about ecological determinants of outcrossing in natural plant populations. The method requires codominant genotypes of seeds collected from maternal plants within different locations. Using extensive computer simulations, we demonstrated that the method is robust to the issues expected for real‐world data, including the Wahlund effect, inbreeding and genotyping errors such as allele dropout and allele misclassification. Furthermore, we showed that the estimates of ecological effects and outcrossing rates can be severely biased if genotyping errors and genetic differentiation are not treated explicitly. Application of the new method to the case study of a dioecious tree (Taxus baccata) allowed revealing that female trees that grow in lower local densities have a greater tendency towards mating with relatives. Moreover, we also demonstrated that biparental inbreeding is higher in populations that are characterized by a longer mean distance between trees and a smaller mean trunk perimeter. We found these results to agree with both the theoretical predictions and the history of English yew.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bayesian quantification of ecological determinants of outcrossing in natural plant populations: Computer simulations and the case study of biparental inbreeding in English yew

2019

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“…; Lavabre et al . ), but the spatial and temporal variability of these roles remains less explored (Burkle & Alarcón ; Mello, Bezerra & Machado ; Trøjelsgaard et al . , among others).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functionally specialised birds respond flexibly to seasonal changes in fruit availability

Bender

Kissling

Böhning‐Gaese

et al. 2017

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Interactions between resource and consumer species result in complex ecological networks. The overall structure of these networks is often stable in space and time, but little is known about the temporal stability of the functional roles of consumer species in these networks. We used a trait-based approach to investigate whether consumers (frugivorous birds) show similar degrees of functional specialisation on resources (plants) in ecological networks across seasons. We additionally tested whether closely related bird species have similar degrees of functional specialisation and whether birds that are functionally specialised on specific resource types within a season are flexible in switching to other resource types in other seasons. We analysed four seasonal replicates of two species-rich plant-frugivore networks from the tropical Andes. To quantify fruit preferences of frugivorous birds, we projected their interactions with plants into a multidimensional plant trait space. To measure functional specialisation of birds, we calculated a species' functional niche breadth (the extent of seasonal plant trait space utilised by a particular bird) and functional originality (the extent to which a bird species' fruit preference functionally differs from those of other species in a seasonal network). We additionally calculated functional flexibility, i.e. the ability of bird species to change their fruit preference across seasons in response to variation in plant resources. Functional specialisation of bird species varied more among species than across seasons, and phylogenetically similar bird species showed similar degrees of functional niche breadth (phylogenetic signal λ = 0·81) and functional originality (λ = 0·89). Additionally, we found that birds with high functional flexibility across seasons had narrow functional niche breadth and high functional originality per season, suggesting that birds that are seasonally specialised on particular resources are most flexible in switching to other fruit resources across seasons. The high flexibility of functionally specialised bird species to switch seasonally to other resources challenges the view that consumer species rely on functionally similar resources throughout the year. This flexibility of consumer species may be an important, but widely neglected mechanism that could potentially stabilise consumer-resource networks in response to human disturbance and environmental change.

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“…Genetic analyses of the plant populations allow building of the spatial network. Interestingly, the spatial network is neither continuous nor random but is characterized by a modular structure of highly connected within-module trees and loose coupling of modules by long-distance dispersal [66]. This creates spatial structures with turnover in space.…”

Section: Issue (2): Non-equilibrium Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this special issue, two articles address the consequences of spatial scales and structures for BEF relationships. In an empirical study, the spatial networks of a plant species whose local populations are linked by seed dispersal by frugivorous birds are studied [66]. Genetic analyses of the plant populations allow building of the spatial network.…”

Section: Issue (2): Non-equilibrium Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functimentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in dynamic landscapes

Brose

Hillebrand

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

173

168

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One contribution of 17 to a theme issue 'Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in dynamic landscapes'. The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) and its consequence for ecosystem services has predominantly been studied by controlled, short-term and small-scale experiments under standardized environmental conditions and constant community compositions. However, changes in biodiversity occur in real-world ecosystems with varying environments and a dynamic community composition. In this theme issue, we present novel research on BEF in such dynamic communities. The contributions are organized in three sections on BEF relationships in (i) multi-trophic diversity, (ii) non-equilibrium biodiversity under disturbance and varying environmental conditions, and (iii) large spatial and long temporal scales. The first section shows that multi-trophic BEF relationships often appear idiosyncratic, while accounting for species traits enables a predictive understanding. Future BEF research on complex communities needs to include ecological theory that is based on first principles of species-averaged body masses, stoichiometry and effects of environmental conditions such as temperature. The second section illustrates that disturbance and varying environments have direct as well as indirect (via changes in species richness, community composition and species' traits) effects on BEF relationships. Fluctuations in biodiversity (species richness, community composition and also trait dominance within species) can severely modify BEF relationships. The third section demonstrates that BEF at larger spatial scales is driven by different variables. While species richness per se and community biomass are most important, species identity effects and community composition are less important than at small scales. Across long temporal scales, mass extinctions represent severe changes in biodiversity with mixed effects on ecosystem functions. Together, the contributions of this theme issue identify new research frontiers and answer some open questions on BEF relationships in dynamic communities of real-world landscapes.

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How does the functional diversity of frugivorous birds shape the spatial pattern of seed dispersal? A case study in a relict plant species

Cited by 23 publications

References 67 publications

Bayesian quantification of ecological determinants of outcrossing in natural plant populations: Computer simulations and the case study of biparental inbreeding in English yew

Bayesian quantification of ecological determinants of outcrossing in natural plant populations: Computer simulations and the case study of biparental inbreeding in English yew

Functionally specialised birds respond flexibly to seasonal changes in fruit availability

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in dynamic landscapes

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