Frugivores are highly variable in their contribution to fruit removal in plant populations. However, data are lacking on species-specific variation in two central aspects of seed dispersal, distance of dispersal and probability of dispersal among populations through long-distance transport. We used DNA-based genotyping techniques on Prunus mahaleb seeds dispersed by birds (small-and medium-sized passerines) and carnivorous mammals to infer each seed's source tree, dispersal distance, and the probability of having originated from outside the study population. Small passerines dispersed most seeds short distances (50% dispersed <51 m from source trees) and into covered microhabitats. Mammals and medium-sized birds dispersed seeds long distances (50% of mammals dispersed seeds >495 m, and 50% of medium-sized birds dispersed seeds to >110 m) and mostly into open microhabitats. Thus, dispersal distance and microhabitat of seed deposition were linked through the contrasting behaviors of different frugivores. When the quantitative contribution to fruit removal was accounted for, mammals were responsible for introducing two-thirds of the immigrant seeds into the population, whereas birds accounted for one-third. Our results demonstrate that frugivores differ widely in their effects on seed-mediated gene flow. Despite highly diverse coteries of mutualistic frugivores dispersing seeds, critical longdistance dispersal events might rely on a small subset of large species. Population declines of these key frugivore species may seriously impair seed-mediated gene flow in fragmented landscapes by truncating the long-distance events and collapsing seed arrival to a restricted subset of available microsites. dispersal vectors ͉ fragmented landscapes ͉ frugivorous vertebrates ͉ long-distance dispersal ͉ seed dispersal kernel S eed dispersal establishes the initial template for regeneration in natural plant populations, influencing demography, genetic structure, and spatial distribution of future generations (1, 2). Successful seed dispersal consists of removal from a source tree and deposition into sites (the seed shadow) where seeds can germinate and seedlings can establish themselves (3). A wide diversity of dispersal agents (both biotic and abiotic) can contribute to successful dispersal. Because these agents are differentially effective, dispersal of a given species is poorly described if only one or a few dispersal vectors are considered (4-8). For instance, seeds already dispersed by animal frugivores can be significantly reshuffled by water (9).Functional roles of different types of frugivores are well documented for the fruit removal stage of dispersal but not for the seed deposition stage. Frugivores may differ not only quantitatively in terms of how many fruits they consume and seeds they disperse but also qualitatively in terms of where and how far they deposit seeds. Previous analyses of frugivore assemblages have focused on species-specific differences in quantitative aspects of visitation, fruit removal, postfeeding...

A long-standing challenge in studies of seed dispersal by animal frugivores has been the characterization of the spatial relationships between dispersed seeds and the maternal plants, i.e. the seed shadow. The difficulties to track unambiguously the origin of frugivore-dispersed seeds in natural communities has been considered an unavoidable limitation of the research field and precluded a robust analysis of the direct consequences of zoochory. Here we report that the multilocus genotype at simple sequence repeat (SSR; microsatellite) loci of the woody endocarp, a tissue of maternal origin, provides an unequivocal genetic fingerprint of the source tree. By comparing the endocarp genotype against the complete set of genotypes of reproductive trees in the population, we could unambiguously identify the source tree for 82.1% of the seeds collected in seed traps and hypothesize that the remaining 17.9% of sampled seeds come from other populations. Identification of the source tree for Prunus mahaleb seeds dispersed by frugivores revealed a marked heterogeneity in the genetic composition of the seed rain in different microhabitats, with a range of 1-5 distinct maternal trees contributing seeds to a particular landscape patch. Within-population dispersal distances ranged between 0 and 316 m, with up to 62% of the seeds delivered within 15 m of the source trees. Long distance dispersal events, detected by the exclusion of all reproductive trees in the population, accounted for up to 17.9% of the seeds sampled. Our results indicate strong distance limitation of seed delivery combined with infrequent long-distance dispersal events, extreme heterogeneity in the landscape pattern of genetic makeup, and a marked mosaic of multiple parentage for the seeds delivered to a particular patch.

Disentangling the contribution of long‐term evolutionary processes and recent anthropogenic impacts to current genetic patterns of wildlife species is key to assessing genetic risks and designing conservation strategies. Here, we used 80 whole nuclear genomes and 96 mitogenomes from populations of the Eurasian lynx covering a range of conservation statuses, climatic zones and subspecies across Eurasia to infer the demographic history, reconstruct genetic patterns, and discuss the influence of long‐term isolation and/or more recent human‐driven changes. Our results show that Eurasian lynx populations shared a common history until 100,000 years ago, when Asian and European populations started to diverge and both entered a period of continuous and widespread decline, with western populations, except Kirov, maintaining lower effective sizes than eastern populations. Population declines and increased isolation in more recent times probably drove the genetic differentiation between geographically and ecologically close westernmost European populations. By contrast, and despite the wide range of habitats covered, populations are quite homogeneous genetically across the Asian range, showing a pattern of isolation by distance and providing little genetic support for the several proposed subspecies. Mitogenomic and nuclear divergences and population declines starting during the Late Pleistocene can be mostly attributed to climatic fluctuations and early human influence, but the widespread and sustained decline since the Holocene is more probably the consequence of anthropogenic impacts which intensified in recent centuries, especially in western Europe. Genetic erosion in isolated European populations and lack of evidence for long‐term isolation argue for the restoration of lost population connectivity.