Seed dispersal by changing frugivore assemblages: a mechanistic test of global change effects

Rodríguez‐Pérez, Javier; García, Daniel; Martínez, Daniel; Morales, Juan Manuel

doi:10.1111/oik.03176

Seed dispersal by changing frugivore assemblages: a mechanistic test of global change effects

Journal Article · Wed Nov 09 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Oikos

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.03176· OSTI ID:1401480

^[1]; García, Daniel ^[2]; Martínez, Daniel ^[2]; Morales, Juan Manuel ^[3]

Depto Biología de Organismos y Sistemas Univ. de Oviedo, and Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Biodiversidad (UMIB, CSIC‐Uo‐PA) ES‐33071 Oviedo Spain, Aranzadi Sciences Society Zorroagagaina 11 ES‐20014 Donostia‐San Sebastián Spain
Depto Biología de Organismos y Sistemas Univ. de Oviedo, and Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Biodiversidad (UMIB, CSIC‐Uo‐PA) ES‐33071 Oviedo Spain
Laboratorio Ecotono, INIBIOMA‐CONICET Univ. Nacional del Comahue Bariloche Argentina

In the face of global change it is important to understand how changes in species abundance and richness can affect ecosystem functions. Here we modelled seed dispersal by animals in a fragmented secondary forest of the Cantabrian Range (northwestern Iberian Peninsula), simulating the activity of six frugivorous bird species when dispersing three species of fleshy‐fruited trees. We calculated the density and richness of seeds deposited across a forested landscape, as well as the density of seeds arriving to open areas. We 1) study the complementarity of functional traits of each species with frugivore assemblages varying in species compositions (i.e. abundance and richness of bird assemblages), 2) identify those bird species whose functional roles are not redundant, and 3) explore the response of seed dispersal to random losses and to two non‐random bird loss scenarios (i.e. overhunting and fewer individuals from migrant species). We found that simulations with the avian composition observed in the field (i.e. with uneven abundances of six bird species) led to values of seed dispersal higher to those emerging from four bird species equally abundant. The selective removal of dominant bird species led to significant decays in seed dispersal, suggesting non‐redundant roles of abundant bird species. Seed dispersal decays were stronger under non‐random than random scenarios of bird loss. In terms of seed density, the functional decays also differed between the scenarios of overhunting and reduced arrival of migrant birds, notably beyond 50% changes in bird species composition. Our results illustrate the need to integrate species composition (controlling for bird abundance and richness) and their sensitivity to disturbances when predicting the impact of global change on ecosystem functions.

View Accepted Manuscript (Publisher)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

OSTI ID:: 1401480

Journal Information:: Oikos, Journal Name: Oikos Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 126; ISSN 0030-1299

Publisher:: Wiley-BlackwellCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: Denmark

Language:: English

References (34)

Functional traits, the phylogeny of function, and ecosystem service vulnerability Díaz, Sandra; Purvis, Andy; Cornelissen, Johannes H. C. Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 3, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.601	journal	July 2013
How do frugivores track resources? Insights from spatial analyses of bird foraging in a tropical forest Saracco, James F.; Collazo, Jaime A.; Groom, Martha J. Oecologia, Vol. 139, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1493-7	journal	April 2004
Rodent seed predation promotes differential recruitment among bird-dispersed trees in temperate secondary forests García, Daniel; Obeso, José Ramón; Martínez, Isabel Oecologia, Vol. 144, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0103-7	journal	April 2005
Imagine a world without seed dispersers: A review of threats, consequences and future directions Farwig, Nina; Berens, Dana G. Basic and Applied Ecology, Vol. 13, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2012.02.006	journal	March 2012
Mammalian seed dispersal in Cantabrian woodland pastures: Network structure and response to forest loss Peredo, Andrés; Martínez, Daniel; Rodríguez-Pérez, Javier Basic and Applied Ecology, Vol. 14, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2013.05.003	journal	August 2013
Seed dispersal in changing landscapes McConkey, Kim R.; Prasad, Soumya; Corlett, Richard T. Biological Conservation, Vol. 146, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2011.09.018	journal	February 2012
Loss of frugivore seed dispersal services under climate change Mokany, Karel; Prasad, Soumya; Westcott, David A. Nature Communications, Vol. 5, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4971	journal	May 2014
Disentangling biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning: deriving solutions to a seemingly insurmountable problem Naeem, Shahid; Wright, Justin P. Ecology Letters, Vol. 6, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00471.x	journal	June 2003
Biodiversity loss, trophic skew and ecosystem functioning Duffy, J. Emmett Ecology Letters, Vol. 6, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00494.x	journal	August 2003
Ecosystem consequences of bird declines Sekercioglu, C. H.; Daily, G. C.; Ehrlich, P. R. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 101, Issue 52 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0408049101	journal	December 2004
Fish extinctions alter nutrient recycling in tropical freshwaters McIntyre, P. B.; Jones, L. E.; Flecker, A. S. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 104, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0608148104	journal	February 2007
Species richness matters for the quality of ecosystem services: a test using seed dispersal by frugivorous birds García, Daniel; Martínez, Daniel Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 279, Issue 1740 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.0175	journal	March 2012
Predicting ecosystem functions from biodiversity and mutualistic networks: an extension of trait-based concepts to plant-animal interactions Schleuning, Matthias; Fründ, Jochen; García, Daniel Ecography, Vol. 38, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.00983	journal	December 2014
Improving the application of vertebrate trait-based frameworks to the study of ecosystem services: Vertebrate trait-based frameworks Luck, Gary W.; Lavorel, Sandra; McIntyre, Sue Journal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 81, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2012.01974.x	journal	March 2012
Spatial concordance between seed rain and seedling establishment in bird-dispersed trees: does scale matter? GarcÍA, Daniel; Obeso, JosÉ RamÓN; MartÍNez, Isabel Journal of Ecology, Vol. 93, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2005.01004.x	journal	April 2005
The functional consequences of random vs. ordered species extinctions Gross, Kevin; Cardinale, Bradley J. Ecology Letters, Vol. 8, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00733.x	journal	April 2005
Extinction order and altered community structure rapidly disrupt ecosystem functioning: Altered community structure disrupts function Larsen, Trond H.; Williams, Neal M.; Kremen, Claire Ecology Letters, Vol. 8, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00749.x	journal	April 2005
Quantifying the evidence for biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning and services: Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning/services Balvanera, Patricia; Pfisterer, Andrea B.; Buchmann, Nina Ecology Letters, Vol. 9, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2006.00963.x	journal	August 2006
Pollination and other ecosystem services produced by mobile organisms: a conceptual framework for the effects of land-use change Kremen, Claire; Williams, Neal M.; Aizen, Marcelo A. Ecology Letters, Vol. 10, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01018.x	journal	April 2007
Global change and species interactions in terrestrial ecosystems Tylianakis, Jason M.; Didham, Raphael K.; Bascompte, Jordi Ecology Letters, Vol. 11, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01250.x	journal	December 2008
Biodiversity in a complex world: consolidation and progress in functional biodiversity research: Consolidation and progress in BDEF research Hillebrand, Helmut; Matthiessen, Birte Ecology Letters, Vol. 12, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01388.x	journal	October 2009
Integrating frugivory and animal movement: a review of the evidence and implications for scaling seed dispersal: Frugivory, animal movement, and seed dispersal Côrtes, Marina Corrêa; Uriarte, María Biological Reviews, Vol. 88, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2012.00250.x	journal	November 2012
Seed dispersal effectiveness revisited: a conceptual review: Tansley review Schupp, Eugene W.; Jordano, Pedro; Gómez, José María New Phytologist, Vol. 188, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03402.x	journal	July 2010
Functional heterogeneity in a plant-frugivore assemblage enhances seed dispersal resilience to habitat loss García, Daniel; Martínez, Daniel; Herrera, José M. Ecography, Vol. 36, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2012.07519.x	journal	April 2012
Extinction and Ecosystem Function in the Marine Benthos Solan, M. Science, Vol. 306, Issue 5699 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1103960	journal	November 2004
Species Loss and Aboveground Carbon Storage in a Tropical Forest Bunker, D. E. Science, Vol. 310, Issue 5750 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1117682	journal	November 2005
Terrestrial Ecosystem Responses to Species Gains and Losses Wardle, D. A.; Bardgett, R. D.; Callaway, R. M. Science, Vol. 332, Issue 6035 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1197479	journal	June 2011
The Community-Level Consequences of Seed Dispersal Patterns Levine, Jonathan M.; Murrell, David J. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Vol. 34, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.34.011802.132400	journal	November 2003
Space, time and complexity in plant dispersal ecology Robledo-Arnuncio, Juan J.; Klein, Etienne K.; Muller-Landau, Helene C. Movement Ecology, Vol. 2, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-014-0016-3	journal	August 2014
Frugivore Behavioural Details Matter for Seed Dispersal: A Multi-Species Model for Cantabrian Thrushes and Trees Morales, Juan Manuel; García, Daniel; Martínez, Daniel PLoS ONE, Vol. 8, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0065216	journal	June 2013
Habitat Loss, Trophic Collapse, and the Decline of Ecosystem Services Dobson, Andrew; Lodge, David; Alder, Jackie Ecology, Vol. 87, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[1915:HLTCAT]2.0.CO;2	journal	August 2006
Nonrandom extinction patterns can modulate pest control service decline Karp, Daniel S.; Moeller, Holly V.; Frishkoff, Luke O. Ecological Applications, Vol. 23, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1890/12-0937.1	journal	June 2013
Response diversity, ecosystem change, and resilience Elmqvist, Thomas; Folke, Carl; Nyström, Magnus Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Vol. 1, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1890/1540-9295(2003)001[0488:RDECAR]2.0.CO;2	journal	November 2003
Differential seed dispersal patterns generated by a common assemblage of vertebrate frugivores in three fleshy-fruited trees Martínez, Isabel; García, Daniel; Obeso, José Ramón Écoscience, Vol. 15, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.2980/15-2-3096	journal	June 2008

Similar Records

Incorporating seed fate into plant–frugivore networks increases interaction diversity across plant regeneration stages

Journal Article · Thu Apr 28 20:00:00 EDT 2016 · Oikos · OSTI ID:1401419

The functional roles of species in metacommunities, as revealed by metanetwork analyses of bird–plant frugivory networks

Journal Article · Tue May 19 20:00:00 EDT 2020 · Ecology Letters · OSTI ID:1630342

Seed dispersal by changing frugivore assemblages: a mechanistic test of global change effects

Citation Formats

References (34)

Similar Records

Related Subjects