Endozoochorous dispersal by herbivores and omnivores is mediated by germination conditions
- PDF / 2,352,468 Bytes
- 14 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 108 Downloads / 191 Views
RESEARCH ARTICLE
BMC Ecology Open Access
Endozoochorous dispersal by herbivores and omnivores is mediated by germination conditions Sorour Karimi1, Mahmoud‑Reza Hemami1*, Mostafa Tarkesh Esfahani1 and Christophe Baltzinger2,3
Abstract Background: Vertebrate-mediated seed dispersal is probably the main long distance dispersal mode. Through endozoochory, large mammals act as mobile links between habitats within and among forest patches. Along with other factors, their feeding regimes do affect their contribution as dispersal vectors. We conducted a cross-species comparative experiment involving two herbivores, red deer and roe deer; and two opportunistic omnivores, wild boar and brown bear, all occurring in the forest and steppe-forest ecotone habitats of the south-eastern Caspian region. We compared their role as endozoochorous seed dispersal agents by monitoring seedling emergence in their dungs under greenhouse and natural conditions. Results: In total, 3078 seedlings, corresponding to 136 plant taxa sprouted from 445 paired dung sub-samples, under greenhouse and natural conditions. Only 336 seedlings, corresponding to 36 plant taxa, emerged under natural con‑ ditions, among which five taxa did not appear under greenhouse conditions. Graminoids and forbs composed 91% of the seedlings in the greenhouse whereas shrubs were more abundant under natural conditions, representing 55% of the emerged seedlings. Under greenhouse conditions, first red deer and then wild boar dispersed more species than the other two mammals, while under natural conditions brown bear was the most effective vector. We observed remarkably higher species richness and seedling abundance per dung sub-sample under buffered greenhouse condi‑ tions than we did under natural conditions. Conclusions: The four sympatric mammals studied provided different seed dispersal services, both in terms of seedling abundance and species richness and may therefore be regarded as complementary. Our results highlight a positive bias when only considering germination under buffered greenhouse conditions. This must be taken into account when planning management options to benefit plant biodiversity based on the dispersal services concluded from greenhouse experiments. Keywords: Seed dispersal, Germination conditions, Plant-animal interactions, Sus scrofa, Ursus arctos, Cervus elaphus, Capreolus capreolus
*Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology, 84156‑83111 Isfahan, Iran Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Background The seed dispersal cycle “is a succession of processes whereby seeds produced by an adult plant are moved from the parent plant, germinate to seedlings, and recruit to adult plants, influencing the fruit and seed availability of the next generation” [1]. Seed dispersal also determines plant community dynamics and influences potential recruitment rates, recolonization, gene
© The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribu
Data Loading...
