Hypercarnivorous apex predator could provide ecosystem services by dispersing seeds
| Autor: | William J. Ripple, José Hernán Sarasola, Andrea Silvina Costan, Juan Ignacio Zanón-Martínez |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Food Chain LARGE FELIDS media_common.quotation_subject Seed dispersal Otras Ciencias Biológicas Argentina 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Zenaida auriculata Competition (biology) Article Predation purl.org/becyt/ford/1 [https] APEX PREDATORS Ciencias Biológicas Food chain COUGAR Seed Dispersal Animals Ecosystem purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6 [https] media_common Apex predator Population Density Multidisciplinary biology Ecology 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology biology.organism_classification Carnivory SECONDARY SEED DISPERSAL Predatory Behavior Biological dispersal Puma CIENCIAS NATURALES Y EXACTAS |
| Zdroj: | CONICET Digital (CONICET) Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas instacron:CONICET Scientific Reports |
| Popis: | Large ?hypercarnivorous? felids are recognized for their role as apex predators and hence as key elements in food webs and ecosystem functioning through competition and depredation. Here we show that cougars (Puma concolor), one of the largest and the most widely ranging apex felid predators with an strictly carnivorous diet, could be also effective secondary long distance seed dispersers, potentially establishing direct and non-herbivore mediated interactions with plant species at the bottom of the food web. Cougars accidently ingest and disseminate large amounts of seeds (31,678 seeds in 123 scats) of plant species initially consumed by their main prey, the Eared Dove Zenaida auriculata. The germination potential of seeds for three of the weedy/invasive plant species more abundantly found in cougar scats (19,570 seeds) was not significantly different from that observed in seeds obtained from dove gizzards, indicating that seed passage through cougar guts did not affect seed germination. Considering the estimated cougar density in our study area, dispersal of seeds by cougars could allow a mean, annual seed spread of ~5,000 seeds per km2. Our results demonstrate that strictly carnivorous, felid predators could have broad and overlooked ecological functions related to ecosystem structuring and functioning. Fil: Sarasola, José Hernán. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Zanón Martínez, Juan Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Costan, Andrea Silvina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Ripple, William. State University of Oregon; Estados Unidos |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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