Non-native Mammals Are the Main Seed Dispersers of the Ancient Mediterranean Palm Chamaerops humilis L. in the Balearic Islands: Rescuers of a Lost Seed Dispersal Service?

Muñoz-Gallego, Raquel; Fedriani, José M.; Traveset, Anna

doi:10.3389/fevo.2019.00161

Cited by 28 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 102 publications

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“…For instance, when fox losses were completely compensated with badgers, seed dispersal into Mediterranean scrubland increased to a level that even surpassed the baseline scenario. Similar compensation has been documented not only among native seed dispersers (Cordeiro andHowe 2003, Zhou et al 2013) but also by introduced and domestic species (García et al 2014, Cares et al 2018, Muñoz-Gallego et al 2019. However, such apparent compensation could be less complete if disperser species differ in subtle but key aspects of the seed dispersal process (e.g.…”

Section: The Effects Of Defaunation and Density Compensation On Seed supporting

confidence: 58%

Intertwined effects of defaunation, increased tree mortality and density compensation on seed dispersal

et al. 2020

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Contemporary defaunation has profound ecological consequences ranging from local or even global co‐extinctions of interacting species to the loss of ecosystem functions and services critical for humanity. Other components of global change (climate change, introduced pests, land use changes) are also harming ecosystem functioning by augmenting tree mortality worldwide. Defaunation and increased tree mortality often coincide in many human‐altered ecosystems but whether they interact, leading to non‐additive effects on ecosystem functioning, remains largely unknown. However, under some ecological circumstances, the decline or extirpation of one species due to defaunation can be neutralized by increases in the abundance of some functionally similar species (i.e. ‘density compensation’). We combined long‐term field data with individual‐based modelling to investigate the potential interactive effects of seed disperser loss, increased tree mortality and density compensation on seed dispersal in a heterogeneous landscape. Our simulation experiments showed that both stressors markedly limit not only the quantity of seed dispersal but also its quality since the impact on seed dispersal strongly varied among habitat types that differ strikingly in suitability for tree establishment. Density compensation had a marked positive effect on seed dispersal which, however, was largely limited under increased tree mortality. The combined negative effects of defaunation and increased tree mortality on seed dispersal were lower than the expected additive effect. This highlights the need to account for the joint operation of multiple stressors to accurately predict the impacts of global change on the link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

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Section: The Effects Of Defaunation and Density Compensation On Seed supporting

confidence: 58%

Intertwined effects of defaunation, increased tree mortality and density compensation on seed dispersal

et al. 2020

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“…A recent analysis of 74 tropical/subtropical islands found that extinctions of frugivores have resulted in a body mass decrease of 37% globally, and in some cases, native frugivores on islands have been completed extirpated 54 . However, it remains to be seen how effectively nonnative (alien) frugivores are compensating for the seed dispersal function provided by lost native frugivores 58 , and how plant-frugivore networks will rewire given novel communities caused by climate change, translocations, and (re)introductions 59,60 . Some evidence already shows that nonnative frugivores may actually promote the dispersal of nonnative plant species more effectively than that of native plants 57 , suggesting that ecosystem outcomes may be context-specific.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frugivore-fruit size relationships between palms and mammals reveal past and future defaunation impacts

et al. 2020

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Mammalian frugivores are critical seed dispersers, but many are under threat of extinction. Futhermore, the impact of past and future defaunation on plant assemblages has yet to be quantified at the global scale. Here, we integrate palm and mammalian frugivore trait and occurrence data and reveal a global positive relationship between fruit size and frugivore body size. Global variation in fruit size is better explained by present-day frugivore assemblages than by Late Pleistocene assemblages, suggesting ecological and evolutionary reorganization after end-Pleistocene extinctions, except in the Neotropics, where some large-fruited palm species may have outlived their main seed dispersers by thousands of years. Our simulations of frugivore extinction over the next 100 years suggest that the impact of defaunation will be highest in the Old World tropics, and an up to 4% assemblage-level decrease in fruit size would be required to maintain the global body size–fruit size relationship. Overall, our results suggest that while some palm species may be able to keep pace with future defaunation through evolutionary changes in fruit size, large-fruited species may be especially vulnerable to continued defaunation.

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“…In fact, in some cases, these alien species may be the only available partners acting as “rescuers” of mutualistic interactions and the derived ecosystem functions (Foster and Robinson ; Muñoz‐Gallego et al. ), despite having an overall negative effect on the native community by, for instance, enhancing further invasions (e.g., Kawakami et al. ; Pejchar ; Wotton and McAlpine ; MacFarlane et al.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In some cases, alien species act as beneficial partners of native species, and to some extent can be functionally adequate replacements of native counterparts (Kawakami et al 2009;Burns 2012;García et al 2014;Pejchar 2015). In fact, in some cases, these alien species may be the only available partners acting as "rescuers" of mutualistic interactions and the derived ecosystem functions (Foster and Robinson 2007;Muñoz-Gallego et al 2019), despite having an overall negative effect on the native community by, for instance, enhancing further invasions (e.g., Kawakami et al 2009;Pejchar 2015;Wotton and McAlpine 2015;MacFarlane et al 2016;Kaushik et al 2018).…”

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confidence: 99%

Conflicting selection onCneorum tricoccon(Rutaceae) seed size caused by native and alien seed dispersers

et al. 2019

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The disappearance of native seed dispersers due to anthropogenic activities is often accompanied by the introduction of alien species, which may to some extent replace the ecological service provided by the extinct ones. Yet, little empirical evidence exists demonstrating the evolutionary consequences of such alien “replacement.” Here, we document the conflicting selection exerted on seed size by two native lizards (Podarcis lilfordi and P. pityusensis) and an alien mammal species (Martes martes), all acting as legitimate seed dispersers of the Mediterranean relict Cneorum tricoccon. While lizards mostly exerted a negative directional selection on seed diameter, especially P. pityusensis, the much larger pine marten exerted positive selection on seed size. Our findings suggest that this among‐disperser variation in the selection regimes, together with the occurrence of spatial variation in the presence of each seed disperser, help to create the geographical variation observed for seed size of C. tricoccon. To our knowledge, this is the first empirical evidence showing opposing selective pressures between native and alien species in the seed dispersal process in an invaded ecosystem.

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Non-native Mammals Are the Main Seed Dispersers of the Ancient Mediterranean Palm Chamaerops humilis L. in the Balearic Islands: Rescuers of a Lost Seed Dispersal Service?

Cited by 28 publications

References 102 publications

Intertwined effects of defaunation, increased tree mortality and density compensation on seed dispersal

Intertwined effects of defaunation, increased tree mortality and density compensation on seed dispersal

Frugivore-fruit size relationships between palms and mammals reveal past and future defaunation impacts

Conflicting selection onCneorum tricoccon(Rutaceae) seed size caused by native and alien seed dispersers

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