No abstract

Seedlings recruitment is key to maintaining populations and depends on diverse biotic interactions before and after seed dispersal. Cacti recruitment is infrequent and occurs at sporadic pulses associated with rainy years. Furthermore, biotic interactions can limit seeds availability due to scarce or ine cient pollinators, dispersers or to antagonistic interactions with orivores and seed predators, as cactus depend on animals for pollination and dispersal. We identi ed interactions and traits involved in the regeneration process of Lophophora diffusa, during seven-years (2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019)(2020)(2021). We assessed oral rewards, pollination rates, intensity of orivory and seed removal, to estimate the probability of recruitment in a population located in Queretaro, Mexico. We found that pre-dispersal events reduced recruitment as ower-fruit transition has a low probability. High orivory and low pollinator visitation rate due to low nectar availability decreased seed formation in all years. Seed predation was not limiting recruitment, since most seeds escaped predation. Even so, a low proportion of seeds established as seedlings, possibly due to water limitation or seed dormancy. The interactions with pollinators and orivores decreased ovuleseed transition, once the seeds are formed, there is a high probability of evade predation. Hence, predispersal interactions during owering determine the availability of seeds, and reduce recruitment in peyote, rather than post-dispersal interactions.

Seedlings recruitment is key to maintaining populations and depends on diverse biotic interactions before and after seed dispersal. Cacti recruitment is infrequent and occurs at sporadic pulses associated with rainy years. Furthermore, biotic interactions can limit seeds availability due to scarce or inefficient pollinators, dispersers or to antagonistic interactions with florivores and seed predators, as cactus depend on animals for pollination and dispersal. We identified interactions and traits involved in the regeneration process of Lophophora diffusa, during seven-years (2015–2021). We assessed floral rewards, pollination rates, intensity of florivory and seed removal, to estimate the probability of recruitment in a population located in Queretaro, Mexico. We found that pre-dispersal events reduced recruitment as flower–fruit transition has a low probability. High florivory and low pollinator visitation rate due to low nectar availability decreased seed formation in all years. Seed predation was not limiting recruitment, since most seeds escaped predation. Even so, a low proportion of seeds established as seedlings, possibly due to water limitation or seed dormancy. The interactions with pollinators and florivores decreased ovule-seed transition, once the seeds are formed, there is a high probability of evade predation. Hence, pre-dispersal interactions during flowering determine the availability of seeds, and reduce recruitment in peyote, rather than post-dispersal interactions.