Microhabitat affects acorn removal in three sympatric and endangered Neotropical oak species

García-Hernández, María de los Ángeles; López‐Barrera, Fabiola; Vásquez-Reyes, Victor

doi:10.1007/s11284-016-1342-2

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The percentage of removal of Persea hintonii fruits by vertebrates is high in subtropical MCF (50-85 %), and like reported values for other species in tropical forests (Holl & Lullow 1997, Blendinger & Díaz-Vélez 2010, García-Hernández et al 2016. Based on the photographic records, large-and medium-sized mammals, such as Pecari tajacu, Odocoileus virginianus and Didelphis virginiana, are the more frequent consumers of P. hintonii fruits in the MCF.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…This model presupposes that the areas with high seeds density close to conspecific tress are an attractant for seed predators. Pre-dispersal and post-dispersal seed removal patterns can play an important role in plant population dynamics concerning demography, regeneration, and propagation in the community (Yu et al 2014, DeMattia et al 2004, García-Hernández et al 2016. For plant species with an efficient dispersal mechanism, post-dispersal seed removal can be the main drawback factor influencing plant distribution, abundance, and successional patterns (Orrock et al 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mammals are considered an efficient group in terms of post-dispersal fruit/seed removal, as they typically consume a high number of fruits and seeds (Holl & Lulow 1997, Sánchez-Cordero & Martínez-Gallardo 1998. Previous research has identified small mammals (mainly rodents) as the main fruit/seed predators in neotropical forests (Wenny 2000, DeMattia et al 2004, García-Hernández et al 2016) and temperate forests (Kamler et al 2016). Habitat structure and vegetation type are important factors influencing removal of fruit or seeds by vertebrates.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, it has been reported that in comparison to areas without vegetation cover, seed removal of broadcast sowing is higher in areas with a higher plant density (Doust 2011). Concerning some small vertebrate species, the existence of a canopy or an understory with dense shrub cover can trigger an increase in seed removal rates, compared to those in open areas (Pons & Pausas 2007, Fanson et al 2008, Perea 2012, Yu et al 2014, García-Hernández et al 2016. Selection of sites with dense vegetation cover can provide an environment with a reduced remotion or predation risk for some fruit-seed consumers (Hixon 2003, Doherty et al 2015, which allows them to allocate more time to search and consume food in those sites (DeMattia et al 2004, Fanson et al 2008.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Pattern of post-dispersal fruit removal of Persea hintonii C.K. Allen by vertebrates in mountain cloud and pine-oak forests in western Mexico

et al. 2022

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Background: High post-dispersal fruit-seed removal can be a bottleneck for successful propagation to new areas of plant populations with fragmented distribution, as in cloud forest. Therefore, it is important to know how vegetation and fruit-eating behavior will influence the spatial removal pattern. Questions and/or Hypotheses: How do vegetation structure and density influence fruit removal of Persea hintonii in potential propagation areas? Study site and dates: Las Joyas Scientific Station, Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve, Jalisco, Mexico. April-May 2015. Methods: The number of fruits removed were recorded in treatments excluding of different size vertebrates, in areas with a dense or sparse understory within two forest types plus open areas with shrub cover. To identify vertebrate fruit-removing species, camera-traps were placed under the canopy of P. hintonii trees with high fructification amounts. Results: Fruit removal was lower in areas of low understory density at pine-oak forests (11.17 ± 5.30 %) and gap areas (25.5 ± 2.39 %), compared to subtropical cloud forests (72.51 ± 0.60 %). The number of days to start the fruit removal was lower in the cloud and pine-oak forests with dense understory than in those with a sparse understory. We identified six mammal and three bird species as removers of P. hintonii fruits, among which Pecari tajacu and small mammals were the most important fruit removers. Conclusions: Low density understory in pine-oak favor less fruit removal of P. hintonii, probably associated with the behavior of its consumers.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pattern of post-dispersal fruit removal of Persea hintonii C.K. Allen by vertebrates in mountain cloud and pine-oak forests in western Mexico

et al. 2022

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“…For example, our hypothesis that acorns underneath shrubs would disperse faster was supported by the result of the arrival microhabitat variable in the success year, but not in the failure year when acorns were moved 21% faster into open areas than into shrubs. As acorns are high nutritional value resources (Pons & Pausas, 2007a), which are scarce in failure years, a possible explanation for that result is an attempt by rodents to quickly escape the increased acorn predation pressure by other rodents beneath shrubs (García-Hernández et al, 2016) at the cost of increased risk of their own predation in open grasslands (Sunyer et al, 2016).…”

Section: Further Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing hinders seed dispersal during crop failure in a declining oak woodland

Vaz

Bugalho

Fedriani

2023

Preprint

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Masting, the reproductive strategy of many perennial plants with variable and synchronized inter-annual seed production, often occurs in grazed systems and is occasionally interspersed with years of extreme crop failure in which few plants remain fecund. Crop failures are becoming more stochastic or common with climate change. Yet, our understanding of the potential costs of the combined effects of crop failure and grazing on seed dispersal and seed-to-seedling transition remains limited. We conducted this study in central Portugal within a silvopastoral system with masting cycles and experiencing a Mediterranean-wide decline partially associated with overgrazing. We tracked the rodent-mediated dispersal of cork-oak (Quercus suber) acorns until seedling emergence in years with contrasting masting seasons in cattle grazed and non-grazed areas. Extreme crop failure resulted in six times longer and faster seed dispersals and 83% more dispersal events, although, consistent with the predator satiation hypothesis, the percentage of predated acorns also increased by 84% as compared to the crop success year. The higher acorn predation in the failure year was offset by a 2.4 times higher percentage of dispersed acorns recruited into seedlings among the unpredated ones, with both years ending up recruiting a similar number of seedlings from the tracked acorns. Seedlings from the tracked acorns emerged 3.4 times farther in the failure year than in the crop success year. Cattle grazing was the main negative factor affecting seed dispersal distance by reducing it by 51% during the extreme crop failure year, whereas it had no noticeable effect during the crop success year. Synthesis: Our study provides empirical evidence that cattle grazing can modulate how an extreme crop failure year can surprisingly be an opportunity for trees remaining fecund to have seedlings established farther apart than in a crop success year. If we are to better manage and preserve the high conservation and socio-economic value of Mediterranean cork oak woodlands in the face of climate change, we must recognize and pay particular attention to controlling seed dispersal drivers such as cattle grazing around fecund trees in years of crop failure.

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Landscape-mediated edge effect in temperate deciduous forest: implications for oak regeneration

et al. 2018

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Microhabitat affects acorn removal in three sympatric and endangered Neotropical oak species

Cited by 12 publications

References 47 publications

Pattern of post-dispersal fruit removal of Persea hintonii C.K. Allen by vertebrates in mountain cloud and pine-oak forests in western Mexico

Pattern of post-dispersal fruit removal of Persea hintonii C.K. Allen by vertebrates in mountain cloud and pine-oak forests in western Mexico

Grazing hinders seed dispersal during crop failure in a declining oak woodland

Landscape-mediated edge effect in temperate deciduous forest: implications for oak regeneration

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