Tree recruitment after native frugivore extinction? A field experiment to test the impact of fruit flesh persistence in a tropical oceanic island

Autor: Sébastien Albert, Olivier Flores, Mikael Stahl, Florian Guilhabert, Dominique Strasberg
Přispěvatelé: Peuplements végétaux et bioagresseurs en milieu tropical (UMR PVBMT), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université de La Réunion (UR)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de La Réunion (OSU-Réunion), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de La Réunion (UR), The Reunion National Park and the French National Office (ONF) provided permits for site access in protected areas. Logistic support was provided by CIRAD and the field station of Mare Longue, funded by the P.O.E., Reunion National Park and OSU Reunion. This research was financed by Region Reunion and FEDER through FEDER 1.16 ECOFORRUN.
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Tropical Ecology
Journal of Tropical Ecology, In press, ⟨10.1017/s026646742200027x⟩
ISSN: 1469-7831
0266-4674
DOI: 10.1017/s026646742200027x
Popis: The loss of large frugivores leads to seed dispersal loss and regeneration failure of numerous large-seeded trees near mother trees. Although Janzen–Connell effects are considered as the primary underlying cause, other factors remain understudied. Here, we used a field experiment to test the impact of flesh persistence on the recruitment of two large-seeded Sapotaceae species that lost their dispersers. In the rainforest of Mare Longue (Réunion), we sowed 3840 seeds in a four-factor design: seed treatment (seed cleaning; flesh persistence), canopy closure (understory; gap), year of sowing (01/2018; 11/2019) and species (Labourdonnaisia calophylloides, Mimusops balata). We also used camera traps to evaluate the impact of extant vertebrates. Seed treatment was by far the most influential factor: flesh persistence led to seedling recruitment divided by 3,2 on average, mainly due to failure of germination or seedling emergence. There were also significant variations in recruitment between species, years and canopy closure levels, notably due to the behaviour of the invasive fauna, especially giant snails that could unexpectedly restore recruitment by feeding on fruit flesh. Together, our results demonstrate strongly depleted recruitment due to flesh persistence and the importance of field experiments to understand the processes at work in complex ecosystems with novel plant–animal interactions.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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