Mariano I. Giombini, Diana Pésole, Anuncio Daniel Benítez, Sebastián A. Costa, L. Fernando Foletto, C. Esteban Pizzio, Ana L. Dip Yordanoff, M. Genoveva Gatti, Mario S. Di Bitetti
{"title":"幸存巨型动物在种子远距离传播中不可替代的作用:来自新热带哺乳动物实验的证据","authors":"Mariano I. Giombini, Diana Pésole, Anuncio Daniel Benítez, Sebastián A. Costa, L. Fernando Foletto, C. Esteban Pizzio, Ana L. Dip Yordanoff, M. Genoveva Gatti, Mario S. Di Bitetti","doi":"10.1111/oik.10488","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The downsizing of disperser assemblages by selective defaunation is a worldwide phenomenon thought to have important consequences in animal‐dispersed plants. Numerous large‐seeded Neotropical plants currently depend on the last megafaunal survivors, the large tapirs <jats:italic>Tapirus</jats:italic> spp., and medium‐sized frugivores. The extent to which medium frugivores are functionally equivalent to tapirs remains unresolved. We combined feeding trials, seed dispersal kernel modeling based on seed retention times and animal movement simulation (Levy walks), and germination experiments in a large‐seeded palm to assess the dispersal quality provided by the largest (tapirs) and two medium (foxes and howler monkeys) frugivore species in terms of dispersal distances and gut passage effects on germination. Tapirs retained the seeds in the gut for much longer (mean = 221 hours) than howlers (43 h) and foxes (22 h). Median dispersal distance by tapirs (1252 m) was 14 and 40 times larger than that by foxes (88 m) and howlers (31 m), respectively. The seed dispersal kernel of tapirs showed a 5th percentile value (291 m) larger than the 95th percentiles of foxes (285 m) and howlers (108 m). Manually depulped and gut‐passed seeds germinated in similar proportions, showing, respectively, 3.5 and 2.5–2.9 times higher values than intact fruits. Germination probability and seed viability decreased with retention time in howlers' and tapirs' gut, with howlers showing a steeper negative relationship. Such detrimental effect implies a trade‐off between germination success and dispersal distance. We conclude that tapirs may not play a unique role in germination enhancement but move seeds much further than medium frugivores, thus playing a critical role as long‐distance dispersers of many plants. This study provides important insights on palm–frugivore interactions and the potential consequences for large‐seeded plants of losing the last megafaunal representatives in the Neotropics.","PeriodicalId":19496,"journal":{"name":"Oikos","volume":"206 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"The irreplaceable role of surviving megafauna in long‐distance seed dispersal: evidence from an experiment with Neotropical mammals\",\"authors\":\"Mariano I. Giombini, Diana Pésole, Anuncio Daniel Benítez, Sebastián A. Costa, L. Fernando Foletto, C. Esteban Pizzio, Ana L. Dip Yordanoff, M. Genoveva Gatti, Mario S. Di Bitetti\",\"doi\":\"10.1111/oik.10488\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"The downsizing of disperser assemblages by selective defaunation is a worldwide phenomenon thought to have important consequences in animal‐dispersed plants. Numerous large‐seeded Neotropical plants currently depend on the last megafaunal survivors, the large tapirs <jats:italic>Tapirus</jats:italic> spp., and medium‐sized frugivores. The extent to which medium frugivores are functionally equivalent to tapirs remains unresolved. We combined feeding trials, seed dispersal kernel modeling based on seed retention times and animal movement simulation (Levy walks), and germination experiments in a large‐seeded palm to assess the dispersal quality provided by the largest (tapirs) and two medium (foxes and howler monkeys) frugivore species in terms of dispersal distances and gut passage effects on germination. Tapirs retained the seeds in the gut for much longer (mean = 221 hours) than howlers (43 h) and foxes (22 h). Median dispersal distance by tapirs (1252 m) was 14 and 40 times larger than that by foxes (88 m) and howlers (31 m), respectively. The seed dispersal kernel of tapirs showed a 5th percentile value (291 m) larger than the 95th percentiles of foxes (285 m) and howlers (108 m). Manually depulped and gut‐passed seeds germinated in similar proportions, showing, respectively, 3.5 and 2.5–2.9 times higher values than intact fruits. Germination probability and seed viability decreased with retention time in howlers' and tapirs' gut, with howlers showing a steeper negative relationship. Such detrimental effect implies a trade‐off between germination success and dispersal distance. We conclude that tapirs may not play a unique role in germination enhancement but move seeds much further than medium frugivores, thus playing a critical role as long‐distance dispersers of many plants. 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The irreplaceable role of surviving megafauna in long‐distance seed dispersal: evidence from an experiment with Neotropical mammals
The downsizing of disperser assemblages by selective defaunation is a worldwide phenomenon thought to have important consequences in animal‐dispersed plants. Numerous large‐seeded Neotropical plants currently depend on the last megafaunal survivors, the large tapirs Tapirus spp., and medium‐sized frugivores. The extent to which medium frugivores are functionally equivalent to tapirs remains unresolved. We combined feeding trials, seed dispersal kernel modeling based on seed retention times and animal movement simulation (Levy walks), and germination experiments in a large‐seeded palm to assess the dispersal quality provided by the largest (tapirs) and two medium (foxes and howler monkeys) frugivore species in terms of dispersal distances and gut passage effects on germination. Tapirs retained the seeds in the gut for much longer (mean = 221 hours) than howlers (43 h) and foxes (22 h). Median dispersal distance by tapirs (1252 m) was 14 and 40 times larger than that by foxes (88 m) and howlers (31 m), respectively. The seed dispersal kernel of tapirs showed a 5th percentile value (291 m) larger than the 95th percentiles of foxes (285 m) and howlers (108 m). Manually depulped and gut‐passed seeds germinated in similar proportions, showing, respectively, 3.5 and 2.5–2.9 times higher values than intact fruits. Germination probability and seed viability decreased with retention time in howlers' and tapirs' gut, with howlers showing a steeper negative relationship. Such detrimental effect implies a trade‐off between germination success and dispersal distance. We conclude that tapirs may not play a unique role in germination enhancement but move seeds much further than medium frugivores, thus playing a critical role as long‐distance dispersers of many plants. This study provides important insights on palm–frugivore interactions and the potential consequences for large‐seeded plants of losing the last megafaunal representatives in the Neotropics.
期刊介绍:
Oikos publishes original and innovative research on all aspects of ecology, defined as organism-environment interactions at various spatiotemporal scales, so including macroecology and evolutionary ecology. Emphasis is on theoretical and empirical work aimed at generalization and synthesis across taxa, systems and ecological disciplines. Papers can contribute to new developments in ecology by reporting novel theory or critical empirical results, and "synthesis" can include developing new theory, tests of general hypotheses, or bringing together established or emerging areas of ecology. Confirming or extending the established literature, by for example showing results that are novel for a new taxon, or purely applied research, is given low priority.