Downsized mutualisms: Consequences of seed dispersers’ body-size reduction for early plant recruitment

Autores
Pérez Méndez, Néstor; Jordano, Pedro; Alfredo, Valido
Año de publicación
2014
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Fil: Jordano, Pedro. Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC). Sevilla; España.
Fil: Valido, Alfredo. Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC). Sevilla; España.
Fil: Pérez Méndez, Néstor. Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC). Sevilla; España.
Extinction-driven, body-size reduction of seed dispersers (i.e. an ecological downsizing resulting from severe defaunation) can entail the loss of unique ecological functions, and impair plant regeneration. However, the manner in which the downsizing of mutualistic animals affects seed dispersal and plant recruitment remains understudied. Here, we took advantage of a natural experiment in the Canarian archipelago to document the consequences of lizards body-size reduction (Gallotia, Lacertidae) on the recruitment of Neochamaelea pulverulenta (Rutaceae), which relies exclusively on these frugivores for seed dispersal. Subsequent to the arrival of humans (ca. 2000–2500 yr BP), the extinction of large-bodied lizards generated a gradient of increasing defaunation on the three islands inhabited by this plant. We hypothesized a significant reduction, and eventually collapse, of early seedling recruitment mirroring the defaunation intensity of the frugivores. We sampled 42 populations spanning the whole geographic range of the plant to examine the quantitative (age structure pattern) and qualitative components (proportion of seedlings growing outside the canopy, number of seedlings established outside the canopy relative to the number of adults – effective recruitment rate, and seedling vigour) of plant regeneration. Our results show that the age structure patterns did not differ among the three contrasted insular scenarios. However, we found significant reductions in seedling recruitment outside the canopy, effective recruitment rate, and delayed negative effects on seedling vigour in populations hosting small- to medium-sized lizard species. Thus, extirpation of large seed-dispersers did not cause substantial reductions in quantitative components of seed dispersal, but determined declines in qualitative aspects impairing dispersal effectiveness. Our study highlights the importance of examining all components of the dispersal and recruitment process to properly document the regeneration outcomes of plants in defaunated, downsized ecological scenarios
Materia
Ciencias Ambientales y de la Tierra
Canary Islands
Defaunation
Gallotia
Lizard Extinction
Neochamaelea Pulverulenta
Seed Dispersal
Ciencias Ambientales y de la Tierra
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Repositorio
RID-UNRN (UNRN)
Institución
Universidad Nacional de Río Negro
OAI Identificador
oai:rid.unrn.edu.ar:20.500.12049/559

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network_name_str RID-UNRN (UNRN)
spelling Downsized mutualisms: Consequences of seed dispersers’ body-size reduction for early plant recruitmentPérez Méndez, NéstorJordano, PedroAlfredo, ValidoCiencias Ambientales y de la TierraCanary IslandsDefaunationGallotiaLizard ExtinctionNeochamaelea PulverulentaSeed DispersalCiencias Ambientales y de la TierraFil: Jordano, Pedro. Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC). Sevilla; España.Fil: Valido, Alfredo. Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC). Sevilla; España.Fil: Pérez Méndez, Néstor. Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC). Sevilla; España.Extinction-driven, body-size reduction of seed dispersers (i.e. an ecological downsizing resulting from severe defaunation) can entail the loss of unique ecological functions, and impair plant regeneration. However, the manner in which the downsizing of mutualistic animals affects seed dispersal and plant recruitment remains understudied. Here, we took advantage of a natural experiment in the Canarian archipelago to document the consequences of lizards body-size reduction (Gallotia, Lacertidae) on the recruitment of Neochamaelea pulverulenta (Rutaceae), which relies exclusively on these frugivores for seed dispersal. Subsequent to the arrival of humans (ca. 2000–2500 yr BP), the extinction of large-bodied lizards generated a gradient of increasing defaunation on the three islands inhabited by this plant. We hypothesized a significant reduction, and eventually collapse, of early seedling recruitment mirroring the defaunation intensity of the frugivores. We sampled 42 populations spanning the whole geographic range of the plant to examine the quantitative (age structure pattern) and qualitative components (proportion of seedlings growing outside the canopy, number of seedlings established outside the canopy relative to the number of adults – effective recruitment rate, and seedling vigour) of plant regeneration. Our results show that the age structure patterns did not differ among the three contrasted insular scenarios. However, we found significant reductions in seedling recruitment outside the canopy, effective recruitment rate, and delayed negative effects on seedling vigour in populations hosting small- to medium-sized lizard species. Thus, extirpation of large seed-dispersers did not cause substantial reductions in quantitative components of seed dispersal, but determined declines in qualitative aspects impairing dispersal effectiveness. Our study highlights the importance of examining all components of the dispersal and recruitment process to properly document the regeneration outcomes of plants in defaunated, downsized ecological scenariosELSEVIER SCIENCE BV2014info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfPérez Méndez, N., Jordano, P., & Valido, A. (2015). Downsized mutualisms: consequences of seed dispersers’ body-size reduction for early plant recruitment. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 17(2), 151-159.1433-8319http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12049/559https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2014.12.001engPerspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematicsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/reponame:RID-UNRN (UNRN)instname:Universidad Nacional de Río Negro2025-09-29T14:29:17Zoai:rid.unrn.edu.ar:20.500.12049/559instacron:UNRNInstitucionalhttps://rid.unrn.edu.ar/jspui/Universidad públicaNo correspondehttps://rid.unrn.edu.ar/oai/snrdrid@unrn.edu.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:43692025-09-29 14:29:18.123RID-UNRN (UNRN) - Universidad Nacional de Río Negrofalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Downsized mutualisms: Consequences of seed dispersers’ body-size reduction for early plant recruitment
title Downsized mutualisms: Consequences of seed dispersers’ body-size reduction for early plant recruitment
spellingShingle Downsized mutualisms: Consequences of seed dispersers’ body-size reduction for early plant recruitment
Pérez Méndez, Néstor
Ciencias Ambientales y de la Tierra
Canary Islands
Defaunation
Gallotia
Lizard Extinction
Neochamaelea Pulverulenta
Seed Dispersal
Ciencias Ambientales y de la Tierra
title_short Downsized mutualisms: Consequences of seed dispersers’ body-size reduction for early plant recruitment
title_full Downsized mutualisms: Consequences of seed dispersers’ body-size reduction for early plant recruitment
title_fullStr Downsized mutualisms: Consequences of seed dispersers’ body-size reduction for early plant recruitment
title_full_unstemmed Downsized mutualisms: Consequences of seed dispersers’ body-size reduction for early plant recruitment
title_sort Downsized mutualisms: Consequences of seed dispersers’ body-size reduction for early plant recruitment
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Pérez Méndez, Néstor
Jordano, Pedro
Alfredo, Valido
author Pérez Méndez, Néstor
author_facet Pérez Méndez, Néstor
Jordano, Pedro
Alfredo, Valido
author_role author
author2 Jordano, Pedro
Alfredo, Valido
author2_role author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Ciencias Ambientales y de la Tierra
Canary Islands
Defaunation
Gallotia
Lizard Extinction
Neochamaelea Pulverulenta
Seed Dispersal
Ciencias Ambientales y de la Tierra
topic Ciencias Ambientales y de la Tierra
Canary Islands
Defaunation
Gallotia
Lizard Extinction
Neochamaelea Pulverulenta
Seed Dispersal
Ciencias Ambientales y de la Tierra
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Fil: Jordano, Pedro. Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC). Sevilla; España.
Fil: Valido, Alfredo. Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC). Sevilla; España.
Fil: Pérez Méndez, Néstor. Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC). Sevilla; España.
Extinction-driven, body-size reduction of seed dispersers (i.e. an ecological downsizing resulting from severe defaunation) can entail the loss of unique ecological functions, and impair plant regeneration. However, the manner in which the downsizing of mutualistic animals affects seed dispersal and plant recruitment remains understudied. Here, we took advantage of a natural experiment in the Canarian archipelago to document the consequences of lizards body-size reduction (Gallotia, Lacertidae) on the recruitment of Neochamaelea pulverulenta (Rutaceae), which relies exclusively on these frugivores for seed dispersal. Subsequent to the arrival of humans (ca. 2000–2500 yr BP), the extinction of large-bodied lizards generated a gradient of increasing defaunation on the three islands inhabited by this plant. We hypothesized a significant reduction, and eventually collapse, of early seedling recruitment mirroring the defaunation intensity of the frugivores. We sampled 42 populations spanning the whole geographic range of the plant to examine the quantitative (age structure pattern) and qualitative components (proportion of seedlings growing outside the canopy, number of seedlings established outside the canopy relative to the number of adults – effective recruitment rate, and seedling vigour) of plant regeneration. Our results show that the age structure patterns did not differ among the three contrasted insular scenarios. However, we found significant reductions in seedling recruitment outside the canopy, effective recruitment rate, and delayed negative effects on seedling vigour in populations hosting small- to medium-sized lizard species. Thus, extirpation of large seed-dispersers did not cause substantial reductions in quantitative components of seed dispersal, but determined declines in qualitative aspects impairing dispersal effectiveness. Our study highlights the importance of examining all components of the dispersal and recruitment process to properly document the regeneration outcomes of plants in defaunated, downsized ecological scenarios
description Fil: Jordano, Pedro. Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC). Sevilla; España.
publishDate 2014
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2014
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv Pérez Méndez, N., Jordano, P., & Valido, A. (2015). Downsized mutualisms: consequences of seed dispersers’ body-size reduction for early plant recruitment. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 17(2), 151-159.
1433-8319
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12049/559
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2014.12.001
identifier_str_mv Pérez Méndez, N., Jordano, P., & Valido, A. (2015). Downsized mutualisms: consequences of seed dispersers’ body-size reduction for early plant recruitment. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 17(2), 151-159.
1433-8319
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12049/559
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2014.12.001
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
publisher.none.fl_str_mv ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:RID-UNRN (UNRN)
instname:Universidad Nacional de Río Negro
reponame_str RID-UNRN (UNRN)
collection RID-UNRN (UNRN)
instname_str Universidad Nacional de Río Negro
repository.name.fl_str_mv RID-UNRN (UNRN) - Universidad Nacional de Río Negro
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