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Interspecific interactions among functionally diverse frugivores and their outcomes for plant reproduction: a new approach based on camera-trap data and tailored null models
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Orientador(es)
Resumo(s)
The study of plant-frugivore interactions is essential to understand the ecology and evolution
of many plant communities. However, very little is known about how interactions among frugivores
indirectly affect plant reproductive success. In this study, we examined direct interactions
among vertebrate frugivores sharing the same fruit resources. Then, we inferred
how the revealed direct interspecific interactions could lead to indirect (positive or negative)
effects on reproductive success of fleshy fruited plants. To do so, we developed a new analytical
approach that combines camera trap data (spatial location, visitor species, date and
time, activity) and tailored null models that allowed us to infer spatial-temporal interactions
(attraction, avoidance or indifference) between pairs of frugivore species. To illustrate our
approach, we chose to study the system composed by the Mediterranean dwarf palm, Chamaerops
humilis, the Iberian pear tree, Pyrus bourgaeana, and their shared functionally
diverse assemblages of vertebrate frugivores in a Mediterranean area of SW Spain. We first
assessed the extent to which different pairs of frugivore species tend to visit the same or different
fruiting individual plants. Then, for pairs of species that used the same individual
plants, we evaluated their spatial-temporal relationship. Our first step showed, for instance,
that some prey frugivore species (e.g. lagomorphs) tend to avoid those C. humilis individuals
that were most visited by their predators (e.g. red foxes). Also, the second step revealed
temporal attraction between large wild and domestic frugivore ungulates (e.g. red deer,
cows) and medium-sized frugivores (e.g. red foxes) suggesting that large mammals could
facilitate the C. humilis and P. bourgaeana exploitation to other smaller frugivores by making
fruits more easily accessible. Finally, our results allowed us to identify direct interaction pathways,
that revealed how the mutualistic and antagonistic relations between animal associates
derived into indirect effects on both plants seed dispersal success. For instance, we
found that large-sized seed predators (e.g. ungulates) had a direct positive effect on the likelihood
of visits by legitimate seed dispersers (e.g. red foxes) to both fleshy fruited plants.
Then, seed predators showed an indirect positive effect on the plants’ reproductive Our new analytical approach provides a widely applicable framework for further studies on
multispecies interactions in different systems beyond plant-frugivore interactions, including
plant-pollinator interactions, the exploitation of plants by herbivores, and the use of carcasses
by vertebrate scavengers
Descrição
Research Article
Palavras-chave
frugivores plant reproduction
Contexto Educativo
Citação
Selwyn M, Garrote PJ, Castilla AR, Fedriani JM (2020) Interspecific interactions among functionally diverse frugivores and their outcomes for plant reproduction: A new approach based on camera-trap data and tailored null models. PLoS ONE 15(10): e0240614
Editora
Plos One