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41 results for “Seed dispersal network”
Forest cover and connectivity have pervasive effects on the maintenance of evolutionary distinct interactions in seed dispersal networks
<p>This Data set contain 29 table of weighted interaction network between plants (columns) and frugivore birds from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest used in the manuscript "Forest cover and connectivity have pervasive effects on the maintenance of evolutionary distinct interactions in seed dispersal networks" published in Oikos Journal.</p>
Fig.1. Bipartite graph depicting a plant-animal mutualistic network involving 10 in The Role Of Macaca Spp. (Primates: Cercopithecidae) In Seed Dispersal Networks
Fig.1. Bipartite graph depicting a plant-animal mutualistic network involving 10 frugivores (left) and 170 of the plant species (right) they disperse at Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. The list of plant species is based on Kitamura et al. (2002), then the list of frugivores dispersing each species has been completed thanks to data from bin Kassim (1987), Kitamura et al. (2005), Datta & Rawat (2008), Brockelman (2009), McConkey & Brockelman (2011), Albert et al. (2013), Ngoprasert (2012), Khamcha (pers. comm.), Latinne (pers. comm.), Martmoon (pers. comm.).
Data from: Seed-dispersal networks in tropical forest fragments: area effects, remnant species, and interaction diversity
<p>Seed dispersal interactions involve key ecological processes in tropical forests that help to maintain ecosystem functioning. Yet this functionality may be threatened by increasing habitat loss, defaunation and fragmentation. However, generalist species, and their interactions, can benefit from the habitat change caused by human disturbance while more specialized interactions mostly disappear. Therefore changes in the structure of the local, within fragment, networks can be expected. Here we investigated how the structure of seed-dispersal networks changes along a gradient of increasing habitat fragmentation. We analysed 16 bird seed-dispersal assemblages from forest fragments of a biodiversity-rich ecosystem. We found significant species-, interaction- and network-area relationships, yet the later was determined by the number of species remaining in each community. The number of frugivorous bird and plant species, their interactions, and the number of links per species decreases as area is lost in the fragmented landscape. In contrast, network nestedness has a negative relationship with fragment area, suggesting an increasing generalization of the network structure in the gradient of fragmentation. Network specialization was not significantly affected by area, indicating that some network properties may be invariant to disturbance. Still, the local extinction of partner species, paralleled by a loss of interactions and specialist-specialist bird-plant seed dispersal associations suggests the functional homogenization of the system as area is lost. Our study provides empirical evidence for network-area relationships driven by the presence/absence of remnant species and the interactions they perform.</p>
The ability to disperse large seeds, rather than body mass alone, defines the importance of animals in a hyper-diverse seed dispersal network
<p>1. Large-bodied animals play irreplaceable roles in seed dispersal, partly due to their capacity to disperse large seeds. Understanding this role at a community level has been limited by the paucity of network studies that include large vertebrates, and the almost complete absence of studies including synzoochoric dispersers. Synzoochoric dispersers can disperse seeds disproportionately large for their body size, potentially overlapping the roles of large-bodied animals. A comprehensive network, inclusive of large vertebrates and synzoochorous dispersers, is imperative to understand seed dispersal at a community level.</p> <p>2. Here, we analysed the seed dispersal network of a hyper-diverse Sundaic forest in Malaysia using local ecological knowledge and including multiple forms of endozoochorous and synzoochorous dispersal. We evaluated the extent to which three disperser traits: body mass, seed-handling ability (size of the largest seed dispersed), and diet explained the importance of animals in the network. We evaluated dispersers' relative importance using four network metrics — degree of specialisation (nested rank), species strength, within-module connectivity (z-value), and between-modules connectivity (c-value).</p> <p>3. We found that seed-handling ability had the biggest effect on a disperser's importance, with strong effects on three network metrics (species strength, ecological specialization, z-value) and moderate effects on connectivity between modules. Body mass was important in defining interactions within modules, and dietary differences defined the ecological specialisation of species in seed dispersal.</p> <p>4. Important dispersers in our network were large-seed dispersers (e.g., rats, gibbons), large-bodied animals, in particular the Asian elephant, and animals with frugivorous diets such as hornbills.</p> <p>5. Synthesis. Our work uncovers the significance of seed-handling ability in identifying pivotal seed dispersal roles in tropical rainforests. Key dispersers include large-bodied herbivores and medium-sized frugivores that could disperse large seeds by endozoochory, and smaller rodents that dispersed similar-sized seeds by synzoochory. Many of the species that emerged as particularly important for the seed dispersal network are currently threatened (e.g., the Asian elephant, gibbons, and hornbills). Their protection or reintroduction should be a top conservation priority. </p>
The individual-based network structure of palm-seed dispersers is explained by a rainforest gradient
<p>How species interactions change in space and time is a major question in ecology. In tropical forests, plant individuals share mutualistic partners (pollinators or seed dispersers), yet we have little understanding of the factors affecting these individual interaction patterns. We used a seed dispersal individual-based network describing interactions between individuals of a palm species with bird species to investigate how intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of individual plants influence the network structure. In our work we evaluated if average canopy height, number of fruits, distance to forest gap, and habitat type influence the role of palm individuals in the network. From 102 palms, 62 individuals had their seeds dispersed at least once: 17 individual palms in the restinga, 15 in the lowland and 30 in the pre-montane habitat. Twelve bird species were recorded dispersing <em>Euterpe edulis</em> seeds in our study area.</p>
Changes in the structure of seed dispersal networks when including interaction outcomes from both plant and animal perspectives
<p>Interaction frequency is the most common currency in quantitative ecological networks, although interaction quality can also affect benefits provided by mutualisms. Here, we evaluate if interaction quality can modify network topology, species' role and whether such changes affect community vulnerability to species loss. We use a well-examined study system (bird-lizard and fleshy-fruited plants in the 'thermophilous' woodland of the Canary Islands) to compare network and species-level metrics from a network based on fruit consumption rates (Interaction Frequency, IF), against networks reflecting functional outcomes: a Seed Dispersal Effectiveness network (SDE) quantifying recruitment, and a Fruit Resource Provisioning network (FRP), accounting for the nutrient supply of fruits. Nestedness decreased in the FRP and the SDE networks, due to the lack of association between fruit consumption rates and (1) nutrient content, and (2) recruitment at the seed deposition sites, respectively. The FRP network showed lower niche overlap due to resource use complementarity among frugivores. Interaction evenness was lower in the SDE network, in response to a higher dominance of lizards in the recruitment of heliophilous species. Such changes, however, did not result in enhanced vulnerability against extinctions. At the plant species level, strength changed in the FRP network in frequently consumed or highly nutritious species. The number of effective partners decreased for species whose seeds were deposited in unsuitable places for recruitment. In frugivores, strength was consistent across networks (SDE vs IF), showing that consumption rates outweighed differences in dispersal quality. In the case of lizards, the increased importance of nutrient-rich species resulted in a higher number of effective partners.</p> <p>Our work shows that although frequency strongly impacts interaction effects, accounting for quality improves our inferences about interaction assembly and species role. Thus, future studies including interaction outcomes from both partners' perspectives will provide valuable insights about the net effects of mutualistic interactions.</p>
Habitat loss shapes the structure and species roles in mutualistic seed dispersal networks
<p>This dataset has the variables used in the paper "Habitat loss shapes the structure and species roles in tropical seed dispersal networks" as well as the script to perform the analysis.</p>
Forest cover and connectivity have pervasive effects on the maintenance of evolutionary distinct interactions in seed dispersal networks
<p>Seed dispersal by animals is one of the most important ecological processes in tropical forests, entailing millions of years of evolutionary adaptations of plants and frugivorous animals forming networks of interactions that, ultimately, contribute to the resilience of such forests. We analyze 29 seed dispersal networks in the threatened Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot, with data on the frequency of feeding visits by birds to fruiting plants to answer: (1) which are the effects of forest cover and landscape connectivity on the maintenance of phylogenetic diversity (PD) of interacting birds and plants and the evolutionary distinctiveness of the interactions (EDi) between them; and (2) how EDi and plant/bird PD affects the robustness of the interaction networks? We found that forest cover positively influences both plant and bird PD and EDi. Landscape connectivity is an important predictor of bird PD, but not plant PD, suggesting that the spatial arrangement of forest remnants is essential for guaranteeing bird movement among forest fragments. Furthermore, interaction networks of areas with higher PD and EDi had great robustness to the simulated extinction of species, which underscore the importance of larger forest blocks for conserving evolutionary information and, consequently, the health and natural resistance of seed dispersal networks against environmental change.</p>
Seasonal variation in impact of non-native species on tropical seed dispersal networks
<p>Invasive non-native species can alter animal-mediated seed dispersal interactions and ultimately affect the stability of recipient communities. The degree of such disturbances, however, is highly variable and depends on several factors, two of which have received little attention: the relative timing of native and non-native fruiting phenologies, and the associated variation in relative resource availability across the fruiting period. Both are likely to alter plant-seed disperser interactions threatened by biological invasions. Here we investigated the impact of plant invasions on the seasonal dynamics of frugivory and seed dispersal networks across a large-scale experimental setup and a plant invasion gradient on a tropical island. We recorded fruit and frugivore abundances, and plant-frugivore interactions across 8 inselbergs (i.e. rocky outcrops) with different levels of plant invasion during 10 months on the island of Mahé, Seychelles. By combining four sampling methods of plant-frugivore interactions we constructed quantitative seed dispersal networks at all sites across two 5-month seasons: the on-peak and off-peak fruiting season. Our findings showed that, by fruiting mostly synchronously with natives, non-native plants compete with natives for dispersal services, predominantly carried out by native frugivores. Variation in native seed dispersal was driven by plant invasion and seasonality. Specifically, native seed dispersal declined with the degree of invasion; dispersal frequency increased with fruit abundance more strongly during the off-peak fruiting season; and networks became increasingly specialised during off-peak. These results indicated that during the main fruiting peak seed dispersal services were saturated, which likely intensified the competition between native and non-native fruits. When resources were scarce during off-peak fruiting season, native and non-native frugivores were more selective in their fruit choice at sites dominated by non-native plants. We showed that native plant and frugivore populations and native seed dispersal interactions were more vulnerable in invaded plant communities, where non-native plants compete with natives for dispersal services potentially reducing native recruitment. As invasive non-native plants dominate many ecosystems worldwide, particularly on islands, our findings showed that controlling plant invasions in vulnerable native communities can be critical to maintain native ecosystem functions and biodiversity.</p>
Legacy effects of seed dispersal mechanisms shape the spatial interaction network of plant species in Mediterranean forests
<p>1. Seed dispersal by frugivores plays a key role in structuring and maintaining tree diversity in forests. However, little is known about how the spatial legacy of seed dispersal and early recruitment shapes spatial patterns and the spatial interaction network of plant species in mature forest communities.</p> <p>2. We analysed two fully mapped mixed Pine-Oak forest communities using spatial point pattern analysis to determine (i) the detailed structure of the intraspecific spatial patterns of saplings and adults, (ii) the intra- and interspecific spatial interaction of saplings, adults, and saplings relative to adults, (iii) the spatial patterns of species richness at the community level, and (iv) whether seed dispersal mechanisms affect the plant-plant interaction networks and the ratio of adult to sapling neighbourhood densities used as surrogate for spatial self-thinning.</p> <p>3. The intraspecific spatial patterns of saplings and adults showed in general complex nested cluster structures that were similar for sapling and adult stages, despite of substantial self-thinning in some dry-fruited species. The spatial network of saplings was characterized by positive spatial interactions. Adults of several tree species facilitated saplings in their proximity; however, adults of dry-fruited species, but not those of fleshy-fruited ones, lost almost all positive interactions that occurred at the sapling stage. Besides, interaction strength between adults was positive and often significantly stronger if both species were fleshy-fruited. At the community level, the forests were structured into multispecies clumps across all life stages.</p> <p>4. Synthesis. Our analyses highlight the importance of the spatial legacy of seed dispersal and early recruitment in the assembly of plant communities. Particularly, animal seed dispersal can lead to multispecies clusters and positive spatial associations across life stages in Mediterranean forests, with surprisingly little signatures of negative interactions. Our analysis suggests that changes of the spatial structure across plant life stages are driven by seed dispersal mechanisms and subsequent spatial self-thinning, generating a spatial footprint at the sapling stage that conditions the long-term interactions between adult plants. Combining spatial point pattern analysis with network analysis and species traits is a promising way to disentangle the processes underlying observed patterns of local diversity. </p>
Data from: Observing frugivores or collecting scats: A method comparison to construct quantitative seed dispersal networks
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The ability to disperse large seeds, rather than body mass alone, defines the importance of animals in a hyper-diverse seed dispersal network
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Data from: Seasonality and morphological variation shape intraspecific seed dispersal networks in gopher tortoises
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Data from: Seed-dispersal networks in tropical forest fragments: area effects, remnant species, and interaction diversity
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Forest cover and connectivity have pervasive effects on the maintenance of evolutionary distinct interactions in seed dispersal networks
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The individual-based network structure of palm-seed dispersers is explained by a rainforest gradient
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Data from: Estimated missing interactions change the structure and alter species roles in one of the world’s largest seed-dispersal networks
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Seasonal variation in impact of non-native species on tropical seed dispersal networks
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Legacy effects of seed dispersal mechanisms shape the spatial interaction network of plant species in Mediterranean forests
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Changes in the structure of seed dispersal networks when including interaction outcomes from both plant and animal perspectives
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