RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 How does avian seed dispersal shape the structure of early successional tropical forests?
A1 González Castro, Aarón
A1 Yang, Suann
A1 Carlo, Tomás A.
A2 Biología Animal y Edafología y Geología
A2 Grupo de Ecología y Evolución en Islas (IPNA-CSIC)
K1 anti-apostatic
K1 dispersal	limitation
K1 diversity maintenance
K1 frugivory	and	seed	dispersal
K1 island	ecology
K1 recruitment	limitation
K1 tropical	forest	regeneration
AB 1.	Frugivores	shape	plant	communities	via	seed	dispersal	of	fleshy-fruited	plant	species.	However,	the	structural	characteristics	that	frugivores	impart	to	plant	communities	are	little	understood.	Evaluating	how	frugivores	structure	plant	communities	via	the	nonproportional	use	of	available	fruit	resources	is	critical	to	understand	the	functioning	of	ecosystems	where	fleshy-fruited	plant	species	are	dominant,	such	as	tropical	forests. 2.	We	performed	a	seed-addition	field	experiment	to	investigate	how	frugivorous	birds	shape	the	composition	and	richness	of	forests	during	early	stages	of	secondary	succession	in	cleared	areas	in	Puerto	Rico.	The	experiment	tested	whether	the	bird-generated	seed	rain	and	the	subsequent	early	successional	plant	communities	were	proportional	representations	of	the	fleshy-fruited	species	that	dominated	the	surrounding	community.	Experimental	treatments	consisted	of	patches	with	(a)	seed-additions	by	wild	birds	attracted	to	experimental	patches	with	pole	perches,	(b)	manual	seed-additions	proportional	to	fruit	abundance	at	the	local	scale	(≤50	m	from	experimental	plots)	and	(c)	manual	seed-additions	proportional	to	fruit	abundance	at	the	landscape	scale	(entire	study	site). 3.	Birds’	seed-additions	differed	in	composition	and	abundance	to	expectations	based	on	fruit	availability	at	local	and	landscape	scales.	Treatments	with	seeds	added	by	birds	had	the	highest	species	richness	in	both	the	seed	rain	and	the	emergence	stages	despite	how,	on	average,	the	monthly	richness	in	the	landscape-scale	treatment	was	double	that	of	birds	and	the	local-scale	treatment.	This	phenomenon	was	explained	by	the	highest	heterogeneity	from	the	bird	seed-addition	treatment	across	months,	and	the	lowest	seed	per	capita	emergence	rates	in	landscape	treatments.	Rather	than	reflecting	relative	fruit	abundance,	birds	biased	seed	rain	and	per	capita	emergence	towards	a	non-random	mixture	of	both	small-	and	large-seeded	species,	resulting	in	richer	and	distinct	plant	communities. 4.	Because	frugivory	and	seed	dispersal	patterns	depart	from	random	encounters	between	frugivores	and	plants	in	communities,	successional	forests	are	characterized	by	an	overrepresentation	of	proportionally	rare	plant	species,	and	decreases	in	the	dominance	of	many	common	species.	Thus,	for	regenerating	tropical	forests,	frugivory	can	function	as	mechanism	that	promotes	persistence	of	rare	plant	species	and	their	coexistence	with	more	abundant	plants.
YR 2018
FD 2018
LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/40646
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/40646
LA en
NO Revista: Functional EcologyDOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13250
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 18-mar-2025