scholarly journals Seed dispersal by pulp consumers, not “legitimate” seed dispersers, increases Guettarda viburnoides population growth

Ecology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 91 (9) ◽  
pp. 2684-2695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea P. Loayza ◽  
Tiffany Knight
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Seed Dispersers

Functional importance of avian seed dispersers changes in response to human-induced forest edges in tropical seed-dispersal networks

Oecologia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 176 (3) ◽  
pp. 837-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Saavedra ◽  
Isabell Hensen ◽  
Stephan G. Beck ◽  
Katrin Böhning-Gaese ◽  
Denis Lippok ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Forest Edges ◽  
Functional Importance ◽  
Seed Dispersers

scholarly journals Fruit-eating fishes of Banara arguta (Salicaceae) in the Miranda River floodplain, Pantanal wetland

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raul Costa-Pereira ◽  
Francisco Severo-Neto ◽  
Tamires Soares Yule ◽  
Ana Paula Tinti Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Fish Assemblage ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Ecological Studies ◽  
Dispersal Strategy ◽  
Ecological Consequences ◽  
River Floodplain ◽  
Seed Dispersers ◽  
Pantanal Wetland

The role of fish as frugivorous and its ecological consequences are often neglected in ecological studies. However, the importance of the interaction between fish and plants is gaining force in scientific literature, and fish has been considered effective seed dispersers. The fruit-eating fish assemblage of Banara arguta (Salicaceae) was evaluated in Southern Pantanal wetlands. Nine species were reported consuming fruits, with different strategies to capture them. The distribution of B. arguta associated with the Pantanal floodplain and the presence of several species of fruit-eating fish, suggest that ichthyochory can be an important seed dispersal strategy to B. arguta.

scholarly journals Seed dispersal increases local species richness and reduces spatial turnover of tropical tree seedlings

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (40) ◽  
pp. 10689-10694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Wandrag ◽  
Amy E. Dunham ◽  
Richard P. Duncan ◽  
Haldre S. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Spatial Diversity ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Tree Seedlings ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Local Species Richness ◽  
Seed Dispersers ◽  
Open Question

Dispersal is thought to be a key process underlying the high spatial diversity of tropical forests. Just how important dispersal is in structuring plant communities is nevertheless an open question because it is very difficult to isolate dispersal from other processes, and thereby measure its effect. Using a unique situation, the loss of vertebrate seed dispersers on the island of Guam and their presence on the neighboring islands of Saipan and Rota, we quantify the contribution of vertebrate seed dispersal to spatial patterns of diversity of tree seedlings in treefall gaps. The presence of vertebrate seed dispersers approximately doubled seedling species richness within canopy gaps and halved species turnover among gaps. Our study demonstrates that dispersal plays a key role in maintaining local and regional patterns of diversity, and highlights the potential for ongoing declines in vertebrate seed dispersers to profoundly alter tropical forest composition.

Avian Seed Dispersal in and Near Subtropical Rainforests.

1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 535 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Green
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Seed Predators ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Avian Seed Dispersal ◽  
Seed Dispersers ◽  
Forest Plants

The behaviour of avian visitors to 23 species of subtropical Australian rain forest plants was observed in the Lamington and Border Ranges National Parks on the Queensland/New South Wales border to determine potentially important seed dispersers, seed predators and fruit thieves.

scholarly journals Interaction of traffic intensity and habitat features shape invasion dynamics of an invasive alien species (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) in a regional road network

NeoBiota ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 155-175
Author(s):  
Andreas Lemke ◽  
Sascha Buchholz ◽  
Ingo Kowarik ◽  
Uwe Starfinger ◽  
Moritz von der Lippe
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Road Network ◽  
Invasive Alien Species ◽  
Ambrosia Artemisiifolia ◽  
Traffic Intensity ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Road Corridors

Road corridors are important conduits for plant invasions, and an understanding of the underlying mechanisms is necessary for efficient management of invasive alien species in road networks. Previous studies identified road type with different traffic volumes as a key driver of seed dispersal and abundance of alien plants along roads. However, how the intensity of traffic interacts with the habitat features of roadsides in shaping invasion processes is not sufficiently understood. To elucidate these interactions, we analyzed the population dynamics of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.), a common non-indigenous annual species in Europe and other continents, in a regional road network in Germany. Over a period of five years, we recorded plant densities at roadsides along four types of road corridors, subject to different intensities of traffic, and with a total length of about 300 km. We also classified roadsides in regard to habitat features (disturbance, shade). This allowed us to determine corridor- and habitat-specific mean population growth rates and spatial-temporal shifts in roadside plant abundances at the regional scale. Our results show that both traffic intensity and roadside habitat features significantly affect the population dynamics of ragweed. The combination of high traffic intensity and high disturbance intensity led to the highest mean population growth whereas population growth in less suitable habitats (e.g. shaded roadsides) declined with decreasing traffic intensity. We conclude that high traffic facilitates ragweed invasion along roads, likely due to continued seed dispersal, and can compensate partly for less suitable habitat features (i.e. shade) that decrease population growth along less trafficked roads. As a practical implication, management efforts to decline ragweed invasions within road networks (e.g. by repeated mowing) should be prioritized along high trafficked roads, and roadside with disturbed, open habitats should be reduced as far as possible, e.g. by establishing grassland from the regional species pool.

scholarly journals Fruit scent as an evolved signal to primate seed dispersal

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. eaat4871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Nevo ◽  
Diary Razafimandimby ◽  
Juan Antonio James Jeffrey ◽  
Stefan Schulz ◽  
Manfred Ayasse
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Communication System ◽  
Communication Channel ◽  
Plant Reproduction ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Fruit Traits ◽  
Fruit Maturation ◽  
Seed Dispersers ◽  
Primate Seed Dispersal

The tremendous diversity of floral and fruit traits is, to a large extent, a set of adaptations that promote plant reproduction through animal pollinators and seed dispersers. Yet, it is still unknown whether fruit scent is a by-product of fruit maturation or an evolved communication channel with animal mutualists. We show that in species that specialize on seed dispersal by lemurs—an olfactorily oriented primate—fruits increase scent production and change their chemical composition significantly more than sympatric species whose seeds are largely dispersed by birds. We further show that lemurs use these shifts in fruit scent to identify ripe fruits. These results show that fruit scent is an evolved communication system that facilitates animal-plant mutualism.

Movements of the bat Sturnira lilium and its role as a seed disperser of Solanaceae in the Brazilian Atlantic forest

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Aurelio Ribeiro Mello ◽  
Elisabeth Klara Viktoria Kalko ◽  
Wesley Rodrigues Silva
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽  
Seed Disperser ◽  
Seed Dispersers

Bats and birds carry out most of the seed dispersal in the Neotropics (Galindo-Gonzáles et al. 2000), and are crucial for the dynamics and regeneration of tropical forests (Whittaker & Jones 1994). However, only a few details are known about the interactions in particular bat–fruit systems. Most frugivorous bats are highly mobile (Bernard & Fenton 2003), and do not harm seeds (Fleming & Sosa 1994), suggesting that they are legitimate and effective seed dispersers (sensu Fleming & Sosa 1994).

scholarly journals Seed dispersal by Ceratogymna hornbills in the Dja Reserve, Cameroon

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
KENNETH D. WHITNEY ◽  
MARK K. FOGIEL ◽  
AARON M. LAMPERTI ◽  
KIMBERLY M. HOLBROOK ◽  
DONALD J. STAUFFER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Germination ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Forest Regeneration ◽  
Germination Rate ◽  
Gut Passage ◽  
Forest Elephants ◽  
Seed Dispersers ◽  
Passage Times

Seed dispersal is a process critical to the maintenance of tropical forests, yet little is known about the interactions of most dispersers with their communities. In the Dja Reserve, Cameroon, seed dispersal by the hornbills Certaogymna atrata, C. cylindricus and C. fistulator (Aves: Bucerotidae) was evaluated with respect to the taxonomic breadth of plants dispersed, location of seed deposition and effects on seed germination. Collectively, the three hornbill species consumed fruits from 59 tree and liana species, and likely provided dispersal for 56 of them. Hornbill-dispersed tree species composed 22% of the known tree flora of the site. Hornbill visit lengths, visit frequencies, and seed passage times indicated that few seeds were deposited beneath parent trees; in five hornbill/tree species pairings studied, 69–100% of the seeds ingested were deposited away from the parent trees. Germination trials showed that hornbill gut passage is gentle on seeds. Of 24 tree species tested, 23 germinated after passage by hornbills; of 17 planted with controls taken directly from trees, only four species showed evidence of inhibition of germination rate, while seven experienced unchanged germinated rates and six experienced enhanced germination rates. Results suggested that Certaogymna hornbill rank among the most important seed dispersers found in Afrotropical forests, and they deserve increased conservation attention. Ceratogymna hornbills are likely to become increasingly important in forest regeneration as populations of larger mammalian seed dispersers (such as forest elephants and primates) diminish.

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