Spatial Distribution and Association With Nurse Plants of the Bishop's Miter Cactus Astrophytum Myriostigma in the Chihuahuan Desert

López-Flores, Donají; Zavala‐Hurtado, José Alejandro; Golubov, Jordan; Mandujano, María C.

doi:10.1894/0038-4909-63-3-186

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The latter is a way to confirm the results obtained by analyzing patterns and to measure the intensity of the effect of nurse plants on protégé species. Although in this study we observed differential establishment of E. enneacanthus with some species that act as nurse plants, it is important to consider that this species has a wide geographic distribution, so even though the dependency may hold, the specific nurse species may change geographically between populations (Cody, 1993; López‐Flores, Zavala‐Hurtado, Golubov, & Mandujano, 2018). In summary, the highest proportion of the individuals found under a nurse plant was in the juvenile category, which highlights the fact that facilitation is critical for the establishment of the study species, and the pattern of association with/without nurse plants in E. enneacanthus is tied to the dynamics of the brousse tigrée.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Effect of brousse tigrée on the dynamics of nurse–protégé interactions of a cactus in the Chihuahuan Desert

Aranda-Pineda

Valverde

Búrquez

et al. 2021

Plant Species Biology

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A nurse–protégé relationship is a frequent facilitation interaction in deserts that allows the recruitment of new individuals of many species. Our aim was to evaluate the relationship of Echinocereus enneacanthus during its life cycle and its nurse plants in the brousse tigrée (tiger bush) vegetation of the Chihuahuan Desert. The population structure of the cactus is skewed toward adult stages, which are commonly found in the bare areas of the brousse tigrée, whereas juveniles are located in the vegetated bands. The vegetation structure and the nurse–protégé relationship were determined using censuses of 19 permanent plots monitored between 2008 and 2019. The differential association of E. enneacanthus with potential nurse plants was evaluated using an interaction network, under the hypothesis of strict association of the seedlings and juveniles with nurse species. In addition, χ2 tests and standardized residuals were fitted among likely nurse species, weighted by the cover of the nurse and of the areas without vegetation. The study species, as well as the nurse plants, had an aggregated distribution pattern. The interaction network showed that the frequency of the association with nurse plants decreased as the size of the protégé individuals increased. At the same time, there were differences in the establishment of E. enneacanthus under particular nurse plants; Prosopis glandulosa and Hilaria mutica were the most important. The nurse–protégé relationship for seeds and seedlings is integral to the vegetation bands of the brousse tigrée.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%