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Yu F, Zhang L, Wang Y, Yi X, Zhang S, Ma J, Dong Z, Chen G, Ma K. High rodent abundance increases seed removal but decreases scatter-hoarding and seedling recruitment along an elevational gradient. Integr Zool 2023; 18:843-858. [PMID: 36300758 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The distributions of small rodents in mountainous environments across different elevations can provide important information regarding the effects of climate change on the dispersal of plant species. However, few studies of oak forest ecosystems have compared the elevational patterns of sympatric rodent diversity, seed dispersal, seed bank, and seedling abundance. Thus, we tested the differences in the seed disperser composition and abundance, seed dispersal, seed bank abundance, and seedling recruitment for Quercus wutaishanica along 10 elevation levels in the Taihang Mountains, China. Our results provide strong evidence that complex asymmetric seed dispersal and seedling regeneration exist along an elevational gradient. The abundance of rodents had a significant negative correlation with the elevation and the seed removal rates peaked and then declined with increasing elevation. The seed removal rates were higher at middle and lower elevations than higher elevations but acorns were predated by 5 species of seed predators at middle and lower elevations, and thus, there was a lower likelihood of recruitment compared with those dropped beneath mother oaks at higher elevations. More importantly, the number of individual seeds in the seed bank and seedlings increased with the elevation, although dispersal services were reduced at sites lacking rodents. As conditional mutualists, the rodents could possibly act as antagonistic seed predators rather than mutualistic seed dispersers at low and middle elevations, thereby resulting in the asymmetric pattern of rodent and seedling abundance with increasing elevation to affect the community assembly and ecosystem functions on a large spatial scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Linjun Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Yang Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Xianfeng Yi
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
| | - Shuang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jianmin Ma
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Zimei Dong
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Guangwen Chen
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Keming Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Rehling F, Jongejans E, Schlautmann J, Albrecht J, Fassbender H, Jaroszewicz B, Matthies D, Waldschmidt L, Farwig N, Schabo DG. Common seed dispersers contribute most to the persistence of a fleshy-fruited tree. Commun Biol 2023; 6:330. [PMID: 36973362 PMCID: PMC10043030 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04647-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutualistic interactions are by definition beneficial for each contributing partner. However, it is insufficiently understood how mutualistic interactions influence partners throughout their lives. Here, we used animal species-explicit, microhabitat-structured integral projection models to quantify the effect of seed dispersal by 20 animal species on the full life cycle of the tree Frangula alnus in Białowieża Forest, Eastern Poland. Our analysis showed that animal seed dispersal increased population growth by 2.5%. The effectiveness of animals as seed dispersers was strongly related to the interaction frequency but not the quality of seed dispersal. Consequently, the projected population decline due to simulated species extinction was driven by the loss of common rather than rare mutualist species. Our results support the notion that frequently interacting mutualists contribute most to the persistence of the populations of their partners, underscoring the role of common species for ecosystem functioning and nature conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Finn Rehling
- University of Marburg, Department of Biology, Conservation Ecology, Marburg, Germany.
- University of Marburg, Department of Biology, Animal Ecology, Marburg, Germany.
| | - Eelke Jongejans
- Radboud University, RIBES, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- NIOO-KNAW, Department of Animal Ecology, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Jan Schlautmann
- University of Marburg, Department of Biology, Conservation Ecology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Jörg Albrecht
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Hubert Fassbender
- University of Marburg, Department of Biology, Conservation Ecology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Bogdan Jaroszewicz
- University of Warsaw, Faculty of Biology, Białowieża Geobotanical Station, Białowieża, Poland
| | - Diethart Matthies
- University of Marburg, Department of Biology, Plant Ecology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Lina Waldschmidt
- University of Marburg, Department of Biology, Conservation Ecology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Nina Farwig
- University of Marburg, Department of Biology, Conservation Ecology, Marburg, Germany
| | - Dana G Schabo
- University of Marburg, Department of Biology, Conservation Ecology, Marburg, Germany
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Durand‐Bessart C, Cordeiro NJ, Chapman CA, Abernethy K, Forget P, Fontaine C, Bretagnolle F. Trait matching and sampling effort shape the structure of the frugivory network in Afrotropical forests. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 237:1446-1462. [PMID: 36377098 PMCID: PMC10108259 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Frugivory in tropical forests is a major ecological process as most tree species rely on frugivores to disperse their seeds. However, the underlying mechanisms driving frugivore-plant networks remain understudied. Here, we evaluate the data available on the Afrotropical frugivory network to identify structural properties, as well as assess knowledge gaps. We assembled a database of frugivory interactions from the literature with > 10 000 links, between 807 tree and 285 frugivore species. We analysed the network structure using a block model that groups species with similar interaction patterns and estimates interaction probabilities among them. We investigated the species traits related to this grouping structure. This frugivory network was simplified into 14 tree and 14 frugivore blocks. The block structure depended on the sampling effort among species: Large mammals were better-studied, while smaller frugivores were the least studied. Species traits related to frugivory were strong predictors of the species composition of blocks and interactions among them. Fruits from larger trees were consumed by most frugivores, and large frugivores had higher probabilities to consume larger fruits. To conclude, this large-scale frugivory network was mainly structured by species traits involved in frugivory, and as expected by the distribution areas of species, while still being limited by sampling incompleteness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clémentine Durand‐Bessart
- Biogeosciences, UMR 6282Université Bourgogne Franche Comte‐CNRS21000DijonFrance
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la ConservationCESCO, UMR 7204, MNHN‐CNRS‐SU75005ParisFrance
| | - Norbert J. Cordeiro
- Department of Biology (mc WB 816)Roosevelt University430 S. Michigan AvenueChicagoIL60605USA
- Science & EducationThe Field Museum1400 S. Lake Shore DriveChicagoIL60605USA
| | - Colin A. Chapman
- Wilson Center1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NWWashingtonDC20004USA
- Department of AnthropologyCenter for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington UniversityWashingtonDC20037USA
- School of Life SciencesUniversity of KwaZulu‐NatalScottsville3201PietermaritzburgSouth Africa
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal ConservationNorthwest University710069Xi'anChina
| | - Katharine Abernethy
- African Forest Ecology Group, School of Natural SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingFK9 4LAUK
- Institut de Recherches en Ecologie TropicaleCENARESTGros Bouquet2144LibrevilleGabon
| | - Pierre‐Michel Forget
- Muséum National d'Histoire NaturelleUMR 7179 MECADEV CNRS‐MNHN1 Avenue du Petit Château91800BrunoyFrance
| | - Colin Fontaine
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la ConservationCESCO, UMR 7204, MNHN‐CNRS‐SU75005ParisFrance
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Schachat SR. Examining paleobotanical databases: Revisiting trends in angiosperm folivory and unlocking the paleoecological promise of propensity score matching and specification curve analysis. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.951547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Paleobotany is at a crossroads. Long-term trends in the fossil record of plants, encompassing their interactions with herbivores and with the environment, are of the utmost relevance for predicting global change as pCO2 continues to rise. Large data compilations with the potential to elucidate those trends are increasingly easy to assemble and access. However, in contrast to modern ecology and unlike various other paleontological disciplines, paleobotany has a limited history of “big data” meta-analyses. Debates about how much data are needed to address particular questions, and about how to control for potential confounding variables, have not examined paleobotanical data. Here I demonstrate the importance of analytical best practices by applying them to a recent meta-analysis of fossil angiosperms. Two notable analytical methods discussed here are propensity score matching and specification curve analysis. The former has been used in the biomedical and behavioral sciences for decades; the latter is a more recent method of examining relationships between, and inherent biases among, models. Propensity score matching allows one to account for potential confounding variables in observational studies, and more fundamentally, provides a way to quantify whether it is possible to account for them. Specification curve analysis provides the opportunity to examine patterns across a variety of schemes for partitioning data—for example, whether fossil assemblages are binned temporally by stage, epoch, or period. To my knowledge, neither of these methods has been used previously in paleontology, however, their use permits more robust analysis of paleoecological datasets. In the example provided here, propensity score matching is used to separate latitudinal trends from differences in age, climate, and plant community composition. Specification curve analysis is used to examine the robustness of apparent latitudinal trends to the schema used for assigning fossil assemblages to latitudinal bins. These analytical methods have the potential to further unlock the promise of the plant fossil record for elucidating long-term ecological and evolutionary change.
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DeSisto C, Herrera JP. Drivers and consequences of structure in plant-lemur ecological networks. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:2010-2022. [PMID: 35837841 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Species interactions shape the diversity and resilience of ecological networks. Plant and animal traits, as well as phylogeny, affect interaction likelihood, driving variation in network structure and tolerance to disturbance. We investigated how traits and phylogenetic effects influenced network-wide interaction probabilities and examined the consequences of extinction on the structure and robustness of ecological networks. We combined both mutualistic and antagonistic interactions of animals (55 species, Infraorder Lemuriformes, Order Primates) and their food plants (590 genera) throughout Madagascar to generate ecological networks. We tested the effects of both lemur and plant traits, biogeographic factors, and phylogenetic relatedness on interaction probability in these networks using exponential random graph models. Next, we simulated animal and plant extinction to analyze the effects of extinction on network structure (connectance, nestedness, and modularity) and robustness for mutualistic, antagonistic, and combined plant-animal networks. Both animal and plant traits affected their interaction probabilities. Large, frugivorous lemurs with a short gestation length, occurring in arid habitats, and with a Least Concern threat level had a high interaction probability in the network, given all other variables. Closely related plants were more likely to interact with the same lemur species than distantly related plants, but closely related lemurs were not more likely to interact with the same plant genus. Simulated lemur extinction tended to increase connectance and modularity, but decrease nestedness and robustness, compared to pre-extinction networks. Networks were more tolerant to plant than lemur extinctions. Lemur-plant interactions were highly trait-structured and the loss of both lemurs and plants threatened the tolerance of mutualistic, antagonistic, and combined networks to future disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille DeSisto
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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Carlo TA, Cazetta E, Traveset A, Guimarães PR, McConkey KR. Special issue: Fruits, animals and seed dispersal: timely advances on a key mutualism. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tomás A. Carlo
- Biology Dept, The Pennsylvania State Univ. University Park PA USA
| | - Eliana Cazetta
- Applied Ecology and Conservation Lab, Univ. Estadual de Santa Cruz Ilhéus Bahia Brazil
| | - Anna Traveset
- Global Change Research Group, Mediterranean Inst. of Advanced Studies (CSIC‐UIB), Esporles Mallorca Balearic Islands Spain
| | - Paulo R. Guimarães
- Depto de Ecologia, Inst. de Biociências, Univ. de São Paulo São Paulo Brazil
| | - Kim R. McConkey
- School of Geography, Univ. of Nottingham Malaysia Campus Semenyih Selangor Malaysia
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