Overlooked seed‐dispersal modes and underestimated distances

González‐Varo, Juan P.; Rumeu, Beatriz; Bracho‐Estévanez, Claudio A.; Acevedo‐Limón, Lucía; Baltzinger, Christophe; Lovas‐Kiss, Ádám; Green, Andy J.

doi:10.1111/geb.13835

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 27 publications

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“…The invasiveness of alien plants depends partly on many plant traits, on the range of habitats suitable for the species, and on the dispersal mechanisms that allow alien species to expand following an initial introduction [5][6][7]. Dispersal syndromes defined from diaspore morphology have often been used to predict dispersal distances [8], but these syndromes often underestimate the potential for long-distance dispersal [9]. For example, migratory waterbirds disperse many plants by endozoochory (gut passage) which have been assigned to gravity or unassisted syndromes [10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive Buttonweed Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) Is Halotolerant and Has High Potential for Dispersal by Endozoochory

Sánchez-García,

Green,

Tomasson

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Buttonweed (Cotula coronopifolia) is native to South Africa but invasive in wetlands in Europe, North America, and Australasia, where it excludes native plants. Despite being dry-fruited, field studies suggest migratory waterbirds can disperse its seeds via gut passage (endozoochory), aiding its expansion. To explore the potential for endozoochory in different regions and habitats, we collected seeds from six populations in Spain, Sweden, and the UK. Germination was tested under different salinity levels (0, 5, 10, 15 g/L) and simulated gut passage treatments: scarification, acidification, or both. No germination occurred at 15 g/L. Higher salinity reduced and delayed germination, but full gut passage treatment increased germinability and accelerated germination. Scarification or acid treatment alone resulted in intermediate germination patterns. There were significant salinity x population and gut passage x population interactions on germinability. The acceleration effect of gut passage on germination was stronger at 5-10 g/L than at 0 g/L. This study highlights how migratory birds can facilitate the spread of alien plants introduced by humans. Non-classical endozoochory by waterbirds is an understudied mechanism for the long-distance dispersal of dry-fruited alien plants. Further research on C. coronopifolia, including population genetics, is necessary to understand dispersal mechanisms and facilitate management strategies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive Buttonweed Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) Is Halotolerant and Has High Potential for Dispersal by Endozoochory

Sánchez-García,

Green,

Tomasson

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Float, fly, then sink: wetland plant seed buoyancy is lost after internal dispersal by waterbirds

Navarro-Ramos,

Green,

de Vries

et al. 2024

Hydrobiologia

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Seed dispersal distance is an important indicator of how well a plant species can cope with environmental changes. Seeds of wetland plants are primarily dispersed by hydrochory (floating on the water surface) or endozoochory (ingestion and egestion by animals). However, both mechanisms can also be combined (diplochory), which increases dispersal distances. In wetlands, seeds often float on the water surface before ingestion and transport by animals, such as waterbirds. Here, we consider what happens next after endozoochory and test whether seeds dispersed inside waterbirds can then continue to disperse by hydrochory. We experimentally assessed the buoyancy capacity of 41 wetland plant species for 14 weeks before and after simulated passage through avian digestive systems. This revealed that (1) seeds of plants previously assigned a hydrochory dispersal syndrome floated longer than those from other syndromes, but with considerable overlap; (2) fully aquatic and shoreline plant species had seeds with stronger buoyancy than terrestrial plants; and (3) digestive processes negatively affected seed buoyancy capacity for all plant species, which included wetland species with a typical hydrochory syndrome. The capacity for hydrochory is more limited after endozoochory than beforehand, with strong implications for the effectiveness of seed dispersal.

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EstablishMed, a dataset of transition probabilities for woody plant establishment in the Mediterranean Region

Acevedo‐Limón,

Rumeu,

Bracho‐Estévanez

et al. 2024

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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MotivationPlant establishment is the result of sequential demographic processes, namely post‐dispersal seed survival, seed germination, seedling survival and sapling survival. These processes can be quantified as transition probabilities between life stages through field experiments, and their product provides an overall establishment probability. This information is essential to understand demography within populations and plant colonization potential under global change scenarios. The Mediterranean Region constitutes a biodiversity hotspot characterised by severe summer droughts, which suppose a critical demographic bottleneck for perennial plant establishment. Despite many studies have quantified transition probabilities of woody species in this region, information is scattered through the literature and has not yet been compiled. To fill this gap, we collated data from a systematic literature review and completed them with new unpublished data to create the EstablishMed dataset.Main types of variables containedEstablishMed is a compilation of 4728 records of transition probabilities that quantify demographic processes operating during plant establishment. All records belong to native species and were obtained in situ under field conditions. Each record includes information about the specific spatiotemporal context of the study (i.e., year, site, population, habitat and microhabitat) and the experimental procedures employed (e.g., degree of protection against natural enemies). In addition, we included taxonomic and trait information of the study species (i.e., seed mass, dispersal syndrome and life form), and the bioclimate of the study sites.Spatial location and grainThe dataset covers the whole Mediterranean Region. The finest spatial resolution corresponds to microhabitat types within populations.Time period and grainData were extracted from 271 studies originated between 1991 and 2024.Major taxa and level of measurement134 woody species from 80 genera and 39 families.Software formatEstablishMed is available in .csv format in Dryad repository.

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Overlooked seed‐dispersal modes and underestimated distances

Cited by 4 publications

References 27 publications

Invasive Buttonweed Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) Is Halotolerant and Has High Potential for Dispersal by Endozoochory

Invasive Buttonweed Cotula coronopifolia (Asteraceae) Is Halotolerant and Has High Potential for Dispersal by Endozoochory

Float, fly, then sink: wetland plant seed buoyancy is lost after internal dispersal by waterbirds

EstablishMed, a dataset of transition probabilities for woody plant establishment in the Mediterranean Region

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