Local extinction of an important seed disperser does not modify the spatial distribution of the endemic palm Astrocaryum aculeatissimum (Schott) Burret (Arecaceae)

Abstract

Spatial pattern of the palm Astrocaryum aculeatissimum was investigated in an urban Atlantic Forest fragment (Tijuca National Park, Brazil) where its main seed disperser, the red-rumped agouti Dasyprocta leporina, is locally extinct. A 120 × 130 m plot (1.56 ha) was established in which all A. aculeatissimum individuals were quantified, georeferenced, and classified by ontogenetic stages, namely, seedling, infant, juvenile, immature individual, and adult. Analyses were performed using Ripley's K function. We recorded 376 individuals, most of which were in the juvenile stage (n = 228). The spatial pattern was aggregated as observed for other palm species. Seedlings and infants were not associated with adults, whereas juveniles and immature individuals were observed closer to adults than expected. The distance between each seedling and the nearest adult ranged from 3 to 30 m (mean ± sd = 11.8 ± 7.8), which is similar to the agouti dispersal distances reported in other studies. Despite the importance of agoutis for the seedling recruitment of A. aculeatissimum, their short-term absence does not affect the spatial distribution of this palm in the studied area.

Seeds and the City: The Interdependence of Zoochory and Ecosystem Dynamics in Urban Environments

“…When the novel dispersers fully functionally replace a lost local disperser, seed movements are unaffected. For example, the loss of agoutis in an urban forest fragment showed no effects on seed dispersal distance, likely due to a fully functional replacement by other rodents (Zucaratto and dos Santos Pires, 2015).…”

Sowing forests: a synthesis of seed dispersal and predation by agoutis and their influence on plant communities

“…In such locations, agouti reintroduction programs might be appropriate to reverse the loss of seed dispersers. For instance, in Tijuca National Park (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) agoutis have been successfully reintroduced (Cid et al, 2014), resulting in a well-established and growing population (Kenup et al, 2018) and on the restoration of dispersal interactions with large-seeded species (Zucaratto, 2013;Mittelman et al, 2020).…”

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