Seed dispersal effectiveness of the western lowland gorilla (<i>Gorilla gorilla gorilla</i>) in Gabon

Haurez, Barbara; Tagg, Nikki; Petre, Charles‐Albert; Brostaux, Yves; Boubady, Armand; Doucet, Jean‐Louis

doi:10.1111/aje.12449

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…These different pathways can result in differences in germination (e.g. Rodríguez-Pérez et al 2005; Reid and Armesto 2011; Haurez et al 2018) and in post-dispersal interactions with seed predators and secondary dispersers (e.g. Fricke et al 2016; Pan et al 2016; Guerra et al 2018).…”

Section: Where Are We Now and Where Do We Need To Go?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal are diverse and pervasive

et al. 2019

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There is growing realization that intraspecific variation in seed dispersal can have important ecological and evolutionary consequences. However, we do not have a good understanding of the drivers or causes of intraspecific variation in dispersal, how strong an effect these drivers have, and how widespread they are across dispersal modes. As a first step to developing a better understanding, we present a broad, but not exhaustive, review of what is known about the drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal, and what remains uncertain. We start by decomposing ‘drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal’ into intrinsic drivers (i.e. variation in traits of individual plants) and extrinsic drivers (i.e. variation in ecological context). For intrinsic traits, we further decompose intraspecific variation into variation among individuals and variation of trait values within individuals. We then review our understanding of the major intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal, with an emphasis on variation among individuals. Crop size is the best-supported and best-understood intrinsic driver of variation across dispersal modes; overall, more seeds are dispersed as more seeds are produced, even in cases where per seed dispersal rates decline. Fruit/seed size is the second most widely studied intrinsic driver, and is also relevant to a broad range of seed dispersal modes. Remaining intrinsic drivers are poorly understood, and range from effects that are probably widespread, such as plant height, to drivers that are most likely sporadic, such as fruit or seed colour polymorphism. Primary extrinsic drivers of variation in seed dispersal include local environmental conditions and habitat structure. Finally, we present a selection of outstanding questions as a starting point to advance our understanding of individual variation in seed dispersal.

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Section: Where Are We Now and Where Do We Need To Go?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal are diverse and pervasive

et al. 2019

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“…Finally, our analysis focused only on studies in which the SDE of multiple frugivores dispersing a single plant species was quantified. A handful of studies did the opposite and quantified the SDE of a single animal on multiple plant species (e.g., Haurez et al, 2018 ). If more data are available, this approach can open the door to answering a completely different set of questions, particularly how different plant and fruit traits affect SDE and its components.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What drives seed dispersal effectiveness?

Nevo,

Filla,

Valenta

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Seed dispersal is a critical phase in plant reproduction and forest regeneration. In many systems, the vast majority of woody species rely on seed dispersal by fruit‐eating animals. Animals differ in their size, movement patterns, seed handling, gut physiology, and many other factors that affect the number of seeds they disperse, the quality of treatment each individual seed receives, and consequently their relative contribution to plant fitness. The seed dispersal effectiveness framework (SDE) was developed to allow systematic and standardized quantification of these processes, offering a potential for understanding the large‐scale dynamics of animal–plant interactions and the ecological and evolutionary consequences of animal behavior for plant reproductive success. Yet, despite its wide acceptance, the SDE framework has primarily been employed descriptively, almost always in the context of local systems. As such, the drivers of variation in SDE across systems and the relationship between its components remain unknown. We systematically searched studies that quantified endozoochorous SDE for multiple animal species dispersing one or more plant species in a given system and offered an integrative examination of the factors driving variation in SDE. Specifically, we addressed three main questions: (a) Is there a tradeoff between high dispersal quality and quantity? (b) Does animal body mass affect SDE or its main components? and (c) What drives more variation in SDE, seed dispersal quality, or quantity? We found that: (a) the relationship between quality and quantity is mediated by body size; (b) this is the result of differential relationships between body mass and the two components, while total SDE is unaffected by body mass; (c)neither quality nor quantity explain more variance in SDE globally. Our results also highlight the need for more standardized data to assess large‐scale patterns in SDE.

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“…2D). The larger average extent of occurrence of tree species may be related to their fruits being borne higher above the ground, favoring dispersal over greater distances (van der Burgt, 1997) or to the fact that they may have fleshy fruits (White, 1994) that are eaten and dispersed by large mammals such as elephants or great apes (Haurez et al, 2015(Haurez et al, , 2018 over large distances (Corlett, 2009). Species that reach the canopy, such as tall trees and the largest climbers (e.g., Acridocarpus Guill.…”

Section: Overrepresentation Of Endemics Among Shrubs and Underreprese...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics and Determinants of Endemic Plant Taxa in the Gabonese Area of Endemism

Texier

Lachenaud

Boupoya³

et al. 2022

annals

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Endemism is one of the most important concepts in biogeography and is often used to guide biodiversity conservation, yet our understanding of the determinants of endemism in many biodiverse tropical regions is limited. This is true for western Central Africa, a region with one of the highest levels of plant diversity in tropical Africa, where endemism is poorly documented. This study examines the Gabonese Area of Endemism (GAE) and explores the main characteristics and determinants of its vascular plant endemism with regard to taxonomy, growth form, habitat, distribution, and range size. We compiled a comprehensive, verified specimen database of vascular plant taxa restricted to the GAE, comprising 19,876 occurrences of 1145 species and infraspecific taxa, and we characterized the habitat and habit for each taxon. We then calculated the proportion of taxa in the regional flora that are endemic to the GAE. A Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to investigate range size among endemic taxa exhibiting different growth forms, and Fisher exact tests were used to explore the association between their habit and habitat, and to test the distribution of these attributes among higher-level taxa and growth forms compared to patterns in the regional flora as a whole. We found that endemic taxa represent ca. 13% of the GAE flora, and that the rate of endemism varies considerably among taxonomic groups and growth forms. Endemism is highest among shrubs (22%) and lowest in herbs (8%), especially monocotyledons (e.g., 5% among Poales). Most endemic taxa grow preferentially in forest habitats, the dominant vegetation type of the region. Endemic trees, which structure forest ecosystems, have significantly larger ranges than endemic herbs, climbers, and shrubs. About 17% of the flora of Gabon is endemic or subendemic to the country. Our results show that the dispersal capacity of taxa and the biogeographical history of the region appear to be critical factors in explaining differences in the rate of endemism among growth forms and taxonomic groups. Our findings also highlight the benefits of carefully building a comprehensive and verified database for studying rare and range-restricted plants, and they underscore the necessity to strengthen botanical exploration throughout western Central Africa in order to develop improved and better-informed conservation strategies.

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Seed dispersal effectiveness of the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in Gabon

Cited by 7 publications

References 38 publications

Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal are diverse and pervasive

Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal are diverse and pervasive

What drives seed dispersal effectiveness?

Characteristics and Determinants of Endemic Plant Taxa in the Gabonese Area of Endemism

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