Seed dispersal by lizards on a continental-shelf island: Predicting interspecific variation in seed rain based on plant distribution and lizard movement patterns
| Autor: | Piazzon, Martín, Larrinaga, Asier R., Rodríguez-Pérez, Javier, Latorre, Lucia, Navarro, Luis, Santamaría, Luis |
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| Přispěvatelé: | Ministerio de Medio Ambiente (España), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España), European Commission, Larrinaga, Asier R. |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2012 |
| Předmět: |
Home range
Dispersal kernel Seed dispersal Spain Spatial scale Timon lepidus Protect restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems sustainably manage forests combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss Island ecology Monteagudo Island Spatially explicit model |
| Popis: | 16 páginas, 5 figuras, 1 tabla, 3 apéndices Aim We estimated the patterns of seed deposition provided by the eyed lizard, Timon lepidus, and evaluated whether these patterns can be generalized across plant species with different traits (fruit and seed size) and spatial distributions. Location Monteagudo Island, Atlantic Islands National Park (north-western Spain). Methods We radio-tracked seven lizards for 14days and estimated their home ranges using fixed kernels. We also geo-referenced all fruit-bearing individuals of four plant species dispersed by eyed lizards in the study area (Corema album, Osyris alba, Rubus ulmifolius and Tamus communis), measured the passage time of their seeds through the lizard gut, and estimated seed predation in four habitats (bare sand, grassland, shrub and gorse). Seed dispersal kernels were estimated using a combination of these data and were combined with seed predation probability maps to incorporate post-dispersal seed fate ('seed survival kernels'). Results Median seed gut-passage times were around 52-98h, with maximum values up to 250h. Lizards achieved maximum displacement in their home ranges within 24-48h. Seed predation was high (80-100% of seeds in 2months), particularly under Corema shrub and gorse. Seed dispersal kernels showed a common pattern, with two areas of preferential seed deposition, but the importance of these varied among plant species. Interspecific differences among dispersal kernels were strongly reduced by post-dispersal seed predation; hence, seed survival kernels of the different plant species showed high auto- and pairwise-correlations at small distances ( This research was partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Environment through its National Park Organism program (project grant 125/2005).A.R.L. and M.P. received funding support from the Spanish Scientific Research Council (JAEDoc and JAEpreDoc programs, respectively, co-funded by the European Social Fund), and J.R.P. was supported by a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship (Grant Agreement Number PIEF-GA-2009-237097) within the 7th European Community Framework Programme. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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