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Dáttilo W, Luna P, Villegas-Patraca R. Invasive Plant Species Driving the Biotic Homogenization of Plant-Frugivore Interactions in the Atlantic Forest Biodiversity Hotspot. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:plants12091845. [PMID: 37176902 PMCID: PMC10181201 DOI: 10.3390/plants12091845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Although biological invasions are a common and intensively studied phenomenon, most studies often ignore the biotic interactions that invasive species play in the environment. Here, we evaluated how and why invasive plant species are interconnected within the overall frugivory network of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, an important global biodiversity hotspot. To do this, we used the recently published Atlantic Frugivory Dataset to build a meta-network (i.e., a general network made of several local networks) that included interactions between 703 native and invasive plant species and 331 frugivore species. Using tools derived from complex network theory and a bootstrap simulation approach, we found that the general structure of the Atlantic Forest frugivory network (i.e., nestedness and modularity) is robust against the entry of invasive plant species. However, we observed that invasive plant species are highly integrated within the frugivory networks, since both native and invasive plant species play similar structural roles (i.e., plant status is not strong enough to explain the interactive roles of plant species). Moreover, we found that plants with smaller fruits and with greater lipid content play a greater interactive role, regardless of their native or invasive status. Our findings highlight the biotic homogenization involving plant-frugivore interactions in the Atlantic Forest and that the impacts and consequences of invasive plant species on native fauna can be anticipated based on the characteristics of their fruits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wesley Dáttilo
- Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Xalapa 91073, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Pedro Luna
- Unidad de Servicios Profesionales Altamente Especializados, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Xalapa 91073, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Rafael Villegas-Patraca
- Unidad de Servicios Profesionales Altamente Especializados, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Xalapa 91073, Veracruz, Mexico
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Fruit Size and Structure of Zoochorous Trees: Identifying Drivers for the Foraging Preferences of Fruit-Eating Birds in a Mexican Successional Dry Forest. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11123343. [PMID: 34944120 PMCID: PMC8697955 DOI: 10.3390/ani11123343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Tropical dry forests are highly threatened by human activities such as agriculture, livestock, and selective logging. These activities have resulted in fragments of tropical dry forest under different successional stages that negatively affect the interaction between plants and fruit-eating birds. We analyzed the consumption of the fruits of zoochorous trees by birds during the dry season in a tropical dry forest and evaluated whether the horizontal and vertical structure of these trees explains fruit consumption. We also related the bird body mass and fruit size removed from zoochorous trees. We found that the tree structure can influence the visitation of fruit-eating birds, and therefore, the number of fruits consumed as the succession progresses. There was a relationship between fruit sizes and bird body mass in the successional gradient. Our results indicate that structural and fruit traits of zoochorous trees drive foraging preferences of fruit-eating birds, whose interactions in different successional stages can help to reverse the negative effects of fragmentation in tropical dry forests of the study area. Abstract Tropical dry forests (TDFs) are affected by land-use changes. These modifications impact their composition and arboreal structure, as well as the availability of food for several bird groups. In this study, we evaluated the foraging preferences in zoochorous trees of fruit-eating birds during the dry season of the year in three successional stages (early, intermediate, and mature) of TDFs in southern Mexico. The fruits of these trees are important in the diet of several birds during the dry season, a period during which food resources are significantly reduced in TDFs. We estimated foliar cover (FC) and foliage height diversity (FHD) of zoochorous trees in 123 circular plots. These variables were recognized as proxies of food availability and tree productivity. Foraging preferences were evaluated at the community level, by frugivore type, and by bird species. We evaluated the effect of the structural variables and the fruit size of zoochorous plants on fruit removal by birds and related the bird body mass and fruit size removed in the successional gradient. A total of 14 zoochorous tree species and 23 fruit-eating bird species were recorded along the successional gradient. Intermediate and mature stages showed greater fruit removal. The birds removed mainly B. longipes fruits across the three successional stages. The FHD and fruit size were important drivers in the selection of zoochorous trees and fruit removal by fruit-eating birds. Fruit size and bird body mass were positively related along the successional gradient. The results suggest that fruit removal by fruit-eating birds in the successional gradient can promote the demographic dynamics of several zoochorous tree species, especially of Bursera spp. along the TDFs.
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Corral A, Valério LM, Cheung KC, dos Santos Ferreira BH, Guerra A, Szabo JK, Reis LK. Plant-bird mutualistic interactions can contribute to the regeneration of forest and non-forest urban patches in the Brazilian Cerrado. Urban Ecosyst 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-020-01029-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Walther BA, Geier J, Chou LS, Bain A. The figs of winter: Seasonal importance of fruiting fig trees (Ficus: Moraceae) for urban birds. ACTA OECOLOGICA 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2017.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Norfolk O, Jung M, Platts PJ, Malaki P, Odeny D, Marchant R. Birds in the matrix: the role of agriculture in avian conservation in the Taita Hills, Kenya. Afr J Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.12383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Norfolk
- York Institute for Tropical Ecosystems; Environment Department; University of York; Heslington York YO10 5NG U.K
- Department of Life Sciences; Anglia Ruskin University; Cambridge CB1 1PT U.K
| | - Martin Jung
- School of Life Science; University of Sussex; Brighton BN1 9QG U.K
| | - Philip J. Platts
- Department of Biology; University of York; Heslington York YO10 5DD U.K
| | - Phillista Malaki
- Zoology Department; National Museums of Kenya; P.O. Box 40658-00100 Nairobi Kenya
| | - Dickens Odeny
- Centre for Biodiversity; National Museums of Kenya; P.O. Box 40658-00100 Nairobi Kenya
| | - Robert Marchant
- York Institute for Tropical Ecosystems; Environment Department; University of York; Heslington York YO10 5NG U.K
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Lasky JR, Yang J, Zhang G, Cao M, Tang Y, Keitt TH. The role of functional traits and individual variation in the co-occurrence ofFicusspecies. Ecology 2014; 95:978-90. [DOI: 10.1890/13-0437.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Abstract
Abstract:A range of species eating the same fruit suggests that niche overlap can occur, along with potential competition among them. To test if the overlap in the coterie of fruit-eating birds is larger than would be expected by chance, we performed a comparison with coteries generated from the use of null models. The study was carried out in an area of savanna woodland of 127 ha in Uberlândia city, Brazil. Four individuals of five zoochorous plant species were selected and 60 h of focal observation was performed on each species. We recorded species of birds that consumed fruits and the quantity of fruit removed. We used an index of Proportional Similarity (PS) between each pair of plant species, using the relative proportion of fruit taken by each bird species of each plant. The mean value of observed PS was compared with the mean PS generated from randomizations. Thirty-six bird species were recorded eating fruits in the selected plant species. The mean overlap observed (PS = 0.183) was significantly higher (P = 0.032) than the mean overlap generated by the null models (PS = 0.123). This pattern suggests that competition is not an important factor in the formation of the coteries and there is sharing of resources. The abundance of fruits offered, especially in the rainy season, and the relatively low number of frugivorous species may be factors explaining the low influence of interactions and therefore the overlap between coteries.
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Deikumah JP, McAlpine CA, Maron M. Matrix intensification alters avian functional group composition in adjacent rainforest fragments. PLoS One 2013; 8:e74852. [PMID: 24058634 PMCID: PMC3772896 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0074852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2013] [Accepted: 08/06/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Conversion of farmland land-use matrices to surface mining is an increasing threat to the habitat quality of forest remnants and their constituent biota, with consequences for ecosystem functionality. We evaluated the effects of matrix type on bird community composition and the abundance and evenness within avian functional groups in south-west Ghana. We hypothesized that surface mining near remnants may result in a shift in functional composition of avifaunal communities, potentially disrupting ecological processes within tropical forest ecosystems. Matrix intensification and proximity to the remnant edge strongly influenced the abundance of members of several functional guilds. Obligate frugivores, strict terrestrial insectivores, lower and upper strata birds, and insect gleaners were most negatively affected by adjacent mining matrices, suggesting certain ecosystem processes such as seed dispersal may be disrupted by landscape change in this region. Evenness of these functional guilds was also lower in remnants adjacent to surface mining, regardless of the distance from remnant edge, with the exception of strict terrestrial insectivores. These shifts suggest matrix intensification can influence avian functional group composition and related ecosystem-level processes in adjacent forest remnants. The management of matrix habitat quality near and within mine concessions is important for improving efforts to preserveavian biodiversity in landscapes undergoing intensification such as through increased surface mining.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justus P. Deikumah
- Landscape Ecology and Conservation Group, School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - Clive A. McAlpine
- Landscape Ecology and Conservation Group, School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Martine Maron
- Landscape Ecology and Conservation Group, School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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Yessoufou K, van der Bank M, Abalaka J, Daru BH. Fig-Frugivore Interactions Follow a Constrained Brownian Motion Model of Evolution in an Important Bird Area, West Africa. Isr J Ecol Evol 2013. [DOI: 10.1560/ijee.58.1.39] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Hagen M, Kissling WD, Rasmussen C, De Aguiar MA, Brown LE, Carstensen DW, Alves-Dos-Santos I, Dupont YL, Edwards FK, Genini J, Guimarães PR, Jenkins GB, Jordano P, Kaiser-Bunbury CN, Ledger ME, Maia KP, Marquitti FMD, Mclaughlin Ó, Morellato LPC, O'Gorman EJ, Trøjelsgaard K, Tylianakis JM, Vidal MM, Woodward G, Olesen JM. Biodiversity, Species Interactions and Ecological Networks in a Fragmented World. ADV ECOL RES 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-396992-7.00002-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 236] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
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Spatial patterns of tree recruitment in East African tropical forests that have lost their vertebrate seed dispersers. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s026646740999054x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Abstract:The direct removal of adult trees by logging affects tree recruitment in tropical rain forests. However, secondary effects of logging, such as loss of vertebrate seed dispersers may also affect tree recruitment. We studied the recruitment and spatial distribution of five tree species namely Balanites wilsoniana, Celtis zenkeri, Chrysophyllum albidum, Cordia millenii and Ricinodendron heudelotii in Kibale, Budongo and Mabira Forests in Uganda. These forests have been subjected to varying degrees of disturbance leading to changes in their vertebrate seed dispersers. Vertebrate frugivores of the five tree species were identified. Three 1-ha plots were established around adult trees of the same five species in each forest and the distance from the juveniles to the nearest adult conspecific was measured to generate a recruitment curve. Frugivore visitation rates were high in the less disturbed Budongo and Kibale (2.2 and 1.6 individuals h−1 respectively) compared with the highly disturbed Mabira (0.9 individuals h−1). In the frugivore-impoverished forest, 70–90% of juveniles established beneath adult conspecifics, whereas in the less-disturbed forests juveniles were established up to 80 m from adult conspecifics. Shade-tolerant species capable of recruiting beneath adult conspecifics appeared to maintain their populations without dispersal. Consequently, disturbances leading to significant loss of vertebrates may alter tree recruitment and spatial distribution with consequences for long-term population viability of shade-intolerant tropical trees.
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Oppel S, Mack AL. Bird Assemblage and Visitation Pattern at Fruiting Elmerrillia tsiampaca (Magnoliaceae) Trees in Papua New Guinea. Biotropica 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2009.00572.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Lehouck V, Spanhove T, Colson L, Adringa-Davis A, Cordeiro NJ, Lens L. Habitat disturbance reduces seed dispersal of a forest interior tree in a fragmented African cloud forest. OIKOS 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2009.17300.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Kissling WD, Rahbek C, Böhning-Gaese K. Food plant diversity as broad-scale determinant of avian frugivore richness. Proc Biol Sci 2007; 274:799-808. [PMID: 17251107 PMCID: PMC2093978 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2006.0311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The causes of variation in animal species richness at large spatial scales are intensively debated. Here, we examine whether the diversity of food plants, contemporary climate and energy, or habitat heterogeneity determine species richness patterns of avian frugivores across sub-Saharan Africa. Path models indicate that species richness of Ficus (their fruits being one of the major food resources for frugivores in the tropics) has the strongest direct effect on richness of avian frugivores, whereas the influences of variables related to water-energy and habitat heterogeneity are mainly indirect. The importance of Ficus richness for richness of avian frugivores diminishes with decreasing specialization of birds on fruit eating, but is retained when accounting for spatial autocorrelation. We suggest that a positive relationship between food plant and frugivore species richness could result from niche assembly mechanisms (e.g. coevolutionary adaptations to fruit size, fruit colour or vertical stratification of fruit presentation) or, alternatively, from stochastic speciation-extinction processes. In any case, the close relationship between species richness of Ficus and avian frugivores suggests that figs are keystone resources for animal consumers, even at continental scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Daniel Kissling
- Community and Macroecology Group, Department of Ecology, Institute of Zoology, Johannes Gutenberg-University, 55099 Mainz, Germany.
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Pawar SS, Birand AC, Ahmed MF, Sengupta S, Raman TRS. Conservation biogeography in North-east India: hierarchical analysis of cross-taxon distributional congruence. DIVERS DISTRIB 2006. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2006.00298.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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Farwig N, Böhning-Gaese K, Bleher B. Enhanced seed dispersal of Prunus africana in fragmented and disturbed forests? Oecologia 2005; 147:238-52. [PMID: 16328550 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-005-0288-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2005] [Accepted: 10/13/2005] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Forest destruction and disturbance can have long-term consequences for species diversity and ecosystem processes such as seed dispersal. Understanding these consequences is a crucial component of conserving vulnerable ecosystems. In the heavily fragmented and disturbed Kakamega Forest, western Kenya, we studied seed dispersal of Prunus africana (Rosaceae). In the main forest, five forest fragments, and differently disturbed sites, we quantified the overall frugivore community as an indicator for species diversity. Furthermore, we determined the frugivores on 28 fruiting P. africana trees, estimated seed dispersal, crop size and the general fruit availability of surrounding trees. During the overall frugivore census we recorded 49 frugivorous species; 36 of them were observed visiting P. africana trees and feeding on their fruits. Although overall frugivore species richness was 1.1 times lower in fragments than in main forest sites and 1.02 times higher in highly disturbed than in less disturbed sites, P. africana experienced 1.1 times higher numbers of frugivores in fragments than in main forest sites and 1.5 times higher numbers of frugivores in highly disturbed than in less disturbed sites. Correspondingly, seed dispersal was 1.5 times higher in fragments than in main forest sites and 1.5 times higher in more disturbed than less disturbed sites. Fruit availability of surrounding trees and crop size influenced the number of visitors to some degree. Thus, the number of dispersed seeds seemed to be slightly higher in fragmented and highly disturbed sites. This indicates that loss of single species does not necessarily lead to a decrease of ecosystem services. However, loss of diversity could be a problem in the long term, as a multitude of species might act as buffer against future environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Farwig
- Institut für Zoologie--Abt. Okologie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Becherweg 13, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
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Abstract
The ecological significance of spacing among plants in contributing to the maintenance of species richness, particularly in tropical forests, has received considerable attention that has largely focussed on distance- and density-dependent seed and seedling mortality. More recently it has become apparent that plant spacing is also relevant to pollination, which often constrains seed production. While seed and seedling survival is reduced at high conspecific densities, pollination success, by contrast, is positively correlated to local conspecific density. Distance-dependent mechanisms acting on pollination and seed production have now been described for a variety of plants, with relatively isolated plants or fragmented populations generally suffering reduced fecundity due to pollen limitation. Yet there is considerable variability in the vulnerability of plant species to pollination failure, which may be a function of breeding system, life history, the pollination vector, the degree of specialisation among plants and their pollinators, and other indirect effects of habitat change acting on plants or pollinators. As reduced tree densities and population fragmentation are common outcomes of anthropogenically altered landscapes, understanding how pollination processes are affected in such degraded landscapes can inform effective conservation and management of remaining natural areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaboury Ghazoul
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park, Ascot, Berks SL5 7PT, UK.
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Graham C, Martinez-Leyva JE, Cruz-Paredes L. Use of Fruiting Trees by Birds in Continuous Forest and Riparian Forest Remnants in Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico1. Biotropica 2002. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2002.tb00578.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Graham C, Martínez-Leyva JE, Cruz-Paredes L. Use of Fruiting Trees by Birds in Continuous Forest and Riparian Forest Remnants in Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico1. Biotropica 2002. [DOI: 10.1646/0006-3606(2002)034[0589:uoftbb]2.0.co;2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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