Endozoochory by brown bears stimulates germination in bilberry

Steyaert, Sam M. J. G.; Hertel, Anne G.; Swenson, Jon E.

doi:10.2981/wlb.00573

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…On the other hand, specific behaviours of mammal species may enhance both the spatial complementarity and the qualitative contributions of these species to the bilberry seed dispersal and, yet, have not been evaluated in this study. For instance, brown bears usually defecate next to their resting sites, where they often dig out the vegetation and create local disturbances that may facilitate bilberry germination Steyaert et al, 2019).…”

Section: Sde Surrogates In Alpine Ecosystems: Quantity Versus Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional complementarity of seed dispersal services provided by birds and mammals in an alpine ecosystem

et al. 2021

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1. Endozoochory is an important ecosystem function that, in temperate and boreal regions, is carried out mainly by birds and mammals. Due to their different quantitative and qualitative contributions to seed dispersal, these animals usually differ in their effectiveness as seed dispersers. However, there is still little information about how spatio-temporal differences in frugivory between birds and mammals may create complementarity in their seed dispersal services.2. We investigated the complementarity of seed dispersal services provided by avian and mammalian seed dispersers of bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus in an alpine ecosystem, the Tatra Mountains (Poland). We collected bird droppings and mammal scats containing bilberry seeds in coniferous forests and alpine meadows. Birds were identified by DNA barcoding techniques while mammals were visually assigned in the field. We analysed the effects of habitat, microhabitat and timing of seed dispersal on the quantitative contributions of each species to the total seed rain and conducted ex situ germination experiments to assess the quality of the seed dispersal services.3. At least 13 bird and three mammal species dispersed bilberry seeds in the Tatra Mountains. Two species of thrushes-song thrushes Turdus philomelos and fieldfares T. pilaris, brown bears Ursus arctos and red foxes Vulpes vulpes were the most effective dispersers. Quantitative and qualitative contributions to seed dispersal differed between birds and mammals. Mammals, particularly brown bears, dispersed the majority of bilberry seeds in both habitats. The total seed rain provided by birds and mammals differed according to the habitat, microhabitat and timing of seed dispersal. Birds dispersed most seeds in the middle of the fruiting season and within the forest, while seed dispersal by mammals peaked in the upper meadows and at the end of the season. Seeds defecated by birds had higher probability to germinate as their droppings contained less seeds and were defecated in more suitable microhabitats than seeds defecated by mammals. 4. Synthesis. Despite differences in the quantity and quality of seed dispersal, both bird and mammal species are effective bilberry dispersers. Complementary seed dispersal by these two groups guarantees the arrival of bilberry seeds to different | 233

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Section: Sde Surrogates In Alpine Ecosystems: Quantity Versus Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional complementarity of seed dispersal services provided by birds and mammals in an alpine ecosystem

et al. 2021

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“…Brown bears can play a key role in dispersing seeds between habitats and can indirectly provide a nutritional subsidy to small mammal populations via deposition of seed-rich bear scats across landscapes [75]. Seed dispersion after ingestion by brown bears stimulates seed germination [76], and the role of bears as seed dispersers has been indeed highlighted in different continents [77,78].…”

Section: Of Wolves and Bears And Beyond-examples Of Apex Predator Efmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Human Disturbance on Terrestrial Apex Predators

et al. 2021

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The effects of human disturbance spread over virtually all ecosystems and ecological communities on Earth. In this review, we focus on the effects of human disturbance on terrestrial apex predators. We summarize their ecological role in nature and how they respond to different sources of human disturbance. Apex predators control their prey and smaller predators numerically and via behavioral changes to avoid predation risk, which in turn can affect lower trophic levels. Crucially, reducing population numbers and triggering behavioral responses are also the effects that human disturbance causes to apex predators, which may in turn influence their ecological role. Some populations continue to be at the brink of extinction, but others are partially recovering former ranges, via natural recolonization and through reintroductions. Carnivore recovery is both good news for conservation and a challenge for management, particularly when recovery occurs in human-dominated landscapes. Therefore, we conclude by discussing several management considerations that, adapted to local contexts, may favor the recovery of apex predator populations and their ecological functions in nature.

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“…All mesocarnivore and passerine feces and 21 bear scats were found during periodical inspections of animal paths, whereas 12 bear scats were marked at daybeds (n = 5) used by GPS-tracked collared brown bears. Following Steyaert et al (2019), we defined bear daybeds as small dug-out areas with signs of bear presence (scats, hairs) and located in areas where bear's GPS relocations clustered for at least 4 h within a range of 50 m. We put each mammal scat in a plastic bag and weighted it with the help of a spring scale. After that, we put each sample back at its exact original location.…”

Section: Field Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constant gardeners: Endozoochory promotes repeated seedling recruitment in clonal plants

García‐Rodríguez

Selva

2021

Ecosphere

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Paradoxically, seedlings of clonal plants are rarely observed in nature, despite many of these species producing large amounts of seeds every fruiting season. Studies about clonal plants' recruitment strategies are usually based on experiments carried out under controlled conditions (e.g., laboratory) and rarely consider frugivores' effects. We tested the role of endozoochory in the seedling recruitment in natural conditions of the bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus, a widely distributed clonal species and a key resource in temperate and boreal regions of Eurasia, which has been suggested to recruit at occasional windows of opportunity (unpredictable conditions in which seedling recruitment may occur within conspecific adult stands). We marked brown bear Ursus arctos, mesocarnivore (red foxes Vulpes vulpes and martens Martes spp.) and passerine feces containing bilberry seeds in the Tatra Mountains (Carpathian Mountains, Southern Poland) and followed the fate of the embedded seeds during two years. We detected bilberry germination associated with 100%, 87.5%, and 50% of brown bear, mesocarnivore, and passerine feces, and also in 43.6%, 41.2%, and 23.1% of the control plots located 5, 10, and 30 m away from the bear scats, respectively. In bear scats, investigated in more detail, 15.7% of the seedlings survived at least one year. The largest numbers of seedlings were associated with bear scats (154.4 AE 237.3 seedlings/m 2 ), especially to those defecated upon the soil disturbances these animals create next to their resting sites. Our results demonstrate that endozoochory facilitates repeated bilberry seedling recruitment in nature, suggesting that studies on the reproductive strategies of clonal plants must consider the role of frugivores. Some frugivores' behaviors, such as the defecation by bears in the vicinity of their resting sites, may in fact be crucial for the reproduction of clonal plants and for the adaptation of these species to the current changing climatic conditions.

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Endozoochory by brown bears stimulates germination in bilberry

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 18 publications

References 45 publications

Functional complementarity of seed dispersal services provided by birds and mammals in an alpine ecosystem

Functional complementarity of seed dispersal services provided by birds and mammals in an alpine ecosystem

Effects of Human Disturbance on Terrestrial Apex Predators

Constant gardeners: Endozoochory promotes repeated seedling recruitment in clonal plants

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