RT info:eu-repo/semantics/masterThesis
T1 Introduced rabbits as seed-dispersing frugivores: a study case on an environmentally diverse oceanic island (Tenerife, Canaries)
A1 Guerrero Campos, María
A2 Máster Universitario en Biodiversidad Terrestre y Conservación en Islas
AB Rabbits have travelled with humans to the most remote archipelagos, having beenintroduced on at least 800 islands worldwide. This herbivore has caused a devastatingeffect on endemic insular plants, causing changes in species composition, cascadingextinctions and disruption of native seed dispersal systems worldwide. However, itsecological impacts as disrupting native seed dispersal systems have not been studied froma holistic perspective in any of the archipelagos where rabbits were introduced. Here, weassess the role of rabbits as frugivores and seed-dispersers on the most extensive anddiverse island of the Canary Archipelago, Tenerife, across its five main vegetation zonesrepresented in an altitudinal gradient 0 – 3715 m a.s.l. To this end, 120 transects pervegetation zone were conducted (August 2020-November 2021) to collect fresh faecalsamples from a total of 244 latrines. They consisted of 29,538 droppings in which wefound seeds from 73 plant species, 29 of which were identified to species level (13endemic, eight natives and eight introduced by humans). About 70% of the seeds wereidentified as fleshy-fruited plant species while the remaining nine were dry fruits. Of theformer, only nine showed a percentage of intact seeds greater than 75%, another ninespecies between 50-75%, and three lower than 50%. The digestive effect of rabbits onseedling emergence was generally low, compared to that produced by native seeddispersers. Since fleshy-fruited plants and rabbits have not been linked in theirevolutionary history in the Canaries, the former seems to have their own legitimate seeddispersers.
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/32015
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/32015
LA en
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 10-jun-2024