Competing for seed dispersal: evidence for the role of avian seed hoarders in mediating apparent predation among oaks

Pesendorfer, Mario B.; Koenig, Walter D.

doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12770

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…We found that the paired seeds of Q. variabilis and Q. serrata (Paired 3) and the paired seeds of C. oleifera and C. glauca (Paired 4) showed apparent mutualism, supporting previous findings (Kitzberger et al 2007;Garzon-Lopez et al 2015;Xiao & Zhang 2016;Yang et al 2019). The paired seeds of Q. serrata and C. oleifera (Paired 5) and the paired seeds of C. axillaris and C. fargesii (Paired 6) showed apparent predation, supporting previous studies (Lichti et al 2014;Pesendorfer & Koenig 2017;Bogdziewicz et al 2018b). These indirect interactions between sympatric tree species may change the quality of the dispersal services provided by animals to their plant partners (Bogdziewicz et al 2018b).…”

Section: Animal-mediated Indirect Seed-seed Interactionssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Veech ; Dangremond et al ; Norghauer & Newbery ). A few studies revealed that apparent mutualism (Kitzberger et al ; Xiao & Zhang ) and apparent predation (Lichti et al ; Pesendorfer & Koenig ; Bogdziewicz et al ) occur among tree species through seeds by rodents and birds. Moreover, recent studies showed that seed predation and dispersal of a given tree species can be indirectly affected by other sympatric tree species at the neighbourhood scale (Yi et al ; Garzon‐Lopez et al ; Yi & Wang ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interspecific synchrony of seed rain shapes rodent‐mediated indirect seed–seed interactions of sympatric tree species in a subtropical forest

Yang

Yan

et al. 2019

Ecology Letters

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Animal‐mediated indirect interactions play a significant role in maintaining the biodiversity of plant communities. Less known is whether interspecific synchrony of seed rain can alter the indirect interactions of sympatric tree species. We assessed the seed dispersal success by tracking the fates of 21 600 tagged seeds from six paired sympatric tree species in both monospecific and mixed plots across 4 successive years in a subtropical forest. We found that apparent mutualism was associated with the interspecific synchrony of seed rain both seasonally and yearly, whereas apparent competition or apparent predation was associated with interspecific asynchrony of seed rain either seasonally or yearly. We did not find consistent associations of indirect interactions with seed traits. Our study suggests that the interspecific synchrony of seed rain plays a key role in the formation of animal‐mediated indirect interactions, which, in turn, may alter the seasonal or yearly seed rain schedules of sympatric tree species.

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Section: Animal-mediated Indirect Seed-seed Interactionssupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interspecific synchrony of seed rain shapes rodent‐mediated indirect seed–seed interactions of sympatric tree species in a subtropical forest

Yang

Yan

et al. 2019

Ecology Letters

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“…Our limited data suggest that Q. agrifolia produced more viable dispersed acorns than Q. lobata, especially in 1997-a mast year for both species. This could reflect greater fruit production (Barringer et al 2013) and/or species differences in rates of acorn harvest by larder-hoarding acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) and scatterhoarding scrub jays (Aphelocoma californica; Pesendorfer and Koenig 2017). Nearly half of the natural Q. agrifolia seedlings surveyed in spring 1998 were found under Q. lobata canopies, presumably due to jay dispersal (Carmen 1988).…”

Section: How Do Vertebrate Consumers Influence Oakmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demography of evergreen and deciduous oaks in a mixed oak savanna: insights from a long‐term experiment

2019

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The co-existence of evergreen and deciduous oaks in Mediterranean-climate savannas has motivated comparative studies on species' physiological adaptations to light and drought, establishment niche differences in acorn production, dispersal and seedling herbivory, and differential sapling tolerance of ungulate browsing. Understanding how species' differences collectively affect co-occurrence or segregation requires long-term studies that consider multiple life stages. We compare survival, height growth, and modeled population growth rate of the evergreen sclerophyll, Quercus agrifolia, to those of the winterdeciduous, broadleaved Q. lobata in southern California savanna sites where the species naturally co-occur. We evaluate species' performances after 8.7 yr for four cohorts sown as acorns in 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2001 under four different levels of protection from cattle, deer, and rodents. Survival curves for the two species were closely similar, with large differences between cohorts associated with precipitation in the year acorns were sown. Survival and growth rates of Q. agrifolia seedlings and saplings were slightly lower, and were more reduced by ungulates and rodents, than those of Q. lobata. No Q. agrifolia plants (0/1431) exposed to ungulates (cattle and/or deer) and rodents survived to the end of the experiment. Of 1421 Q. lobata acorns planted in these treatments, only 19 plants (1.3%) survived 8.7 yr and none of these plants progressed out of the ungulate browse layer. However, when protected from both ungulates and rodents, survival rates increased significantly for both species, and Q. agrifolia increased height faster than Q. lobata. Simulated population growth rates increased slightly for plants protected from ungulates, and 95% confidence intervals spanned the stable population growth rate of 1. With exclusion of ungulates and rodents, sapling and small tree recruitment rates for both species far exceeded those needed to offset the rate of recent adult mortality, with modeled population growth rates of 1.07-1.11. Our results underscore the essential role of occasional high rainfall years for initial establishment, plus the key role of consumers in limiting early survival and growth of both evergreen and deciduous oaks in mixed oak savannas.

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“…Such interactions are ubiquitous in nature (Strauss, 1991;Werner & Peacor, 2003) and play pivotal roles in the organization of plant and animal communities (Holt & Bonsall, 2017;Holt & Lawton, 1994). However, while their influence on seed predation and herbivory is widely acknowledged (Caccia, Chaneton, & Kitzberger, 2006;Emerson, Brown, Whelan, & Schmidt, 2012;Garzon-Lopez et al, 2015;Holt & Bonsall, 2017;Werner & Peacor, 2003), their effects on seed dispersal have been largely ignored (Lichti, Steele, Zhang, & Swihart, 2014;Pesendorfer & Koenig, 2017;Shimada, 2001;Xiao & Zhang, 2016). In theory, indirect interactions could slow an invasion when dispersal of the alien species is reduced in the presence of native species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumer‐mediated indirect interaction with a native plant lowers the fitness of an invasive competitor

2018

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Seed dispersal is a primary driver, via propagule pressure, of biological invasions. In animal‐dispersed plants, theory predicts that indirect ecological interactions at the neighbourhood scale may determine landscape‐scale patterns of seed dispersal and predation, and thus invasion. Indirect interactions in seed dispersal may arise between two plant species if shared seed dispersal agents adjust their foraging decisions to the relative frequencies of co‐occurring seeds. We used seed‐tracking experiments and empirically parameterized simulations to test the hypothesis that an indirect interaction between two plant species, mediated by scatterhoarding rodents that both consume and disperse seeds, affects recruitment of an invasive tree. We predicted that acorns of Quercus rubra (invasive in Central Europe) would experience higher caching (and therefore survival) rates when they co‐occurred with native Quercus petraea than when they occurred in isolation, that Q. petraea acorns would survive at lower rates with Q. rubra relative to isolation, and that this interaction would facilitate Q. rubra seedling recruitment in Q. petraea forests. Contrary to expectations, the presence of Q. petraea reduced caching of Q. rubra acorns, and co‐occurrence with Q. rubra increased caching of Q. petraea. Thus, a rodent‐mediated indirect interaction may be slowing rather than facilitating the Q. rubra invasion. However, our simulations indicate that the magnitude of this indirect interaction will change nonlinearly as Q. rubra becomes more dominant on the landscape, and that the pace of invasion will accelerate as the alien species is released from the rodent‐mediated effect of Q. petraea. Synthesis. The presence of native Quercus petraea decreases recruitment rates of Quercus rubra, and consequently, slows down the invasion process. The strong dependence of pairwise interactions on the presence of a third‐party species emphasizes the role of indirect interactions in the invasion processes.

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Competing for seed dispersal: evidence for the role of avian seed hoarders in mediating apparent predation among oaks

Cited by 16 publications

References 36 publications

Interspecific synchrony of seed rain shapes rodent‐mediated indirect seed–seed interactions of sympatric tree species in a subtropical forest

Interspecific synchrony of seed rain shapes rodent‐mediated indirect seed–seed interactions of sympatric tree species in a subtropical forest

Demography of evergreen and deciduous oaks in a mixed oak savanna: insights from a long‐term experiment

Consumer‐mediated indirect interaction with a native plant lowers the fitness of an invasive competitor

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