Pathogen life-cycle leaves footprint on the spatial distribution of recruitment of their host plants

Perea, A.; Garrido, José Luis Hernando; Fedriani, José M.; Rey, Pedro J.; Alcántara, Julio M.

doi:10.1016/j.funeco.2020.100974

Cited by 6 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Intraspecific processes, such as resource competition or density‐dependent enemies, are weaker when densities are lower and when plants are farther away from conspecific adults (Bagchi et al., 2010; Connell, 1971; Janzen, 1970; Le Roux et al., 2013; Perea et al., 2020). Lower densities in seed clusters reduce distance‐ and density‐dependent mortality, leading to weaker levels of spatial self‐thinning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…foraging activity and scape hypothesis; Howe, 1989; Russo et al., 2006; Verdú & García‐Fayos, 1996). Conversely, seeds of dry‐fruited species are usually highly aggregated due to wind, gravity or scatter hoarding, which enhance the strength of density‐dependent mechanisms and the spatial self‐thinning, especially if they are deposited close to the mother plant (Beckman et al., 2012; Bell et al., 2006; Nathan & Muller‐Landau, 2000; Perea et al., 2020). Indeed, we found that the neighbourhood density of saplings of fleshy‐fruited species was on average 0.843 saplings/m 2 , less than half that of dry‐fruited species (1.958 saplings/m 2 ), while thinning was on average five times stronger in dry‐fruited than in fleshy‐fruited species (Table 2).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Intraspecific processes, such as resource competition or densitydependent enemies, are weaker when densities are lower and when plants are farther away from conspecific adults (Bagchi et al, 2010;Connell, 1971;Janzen, 1970;Le Roux et al, 2013;Perea et al, 2020).…”

Section: Consequences Of Seed Dispersal On the Spatial Self-thinning Of Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adults are defined as large individuals that showed evidence of being reproductive. A similar experimental design can be found in Perea et al (2020). The plots correspond to old-growth forest stands, with homogeneous environments, and without evidence for recent disturbances.…”

Section: Sampling Design For Point Pattern Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All these results clearly suggest that processes that drive recruitment leave a legacy on the spatial structure at the adult stage. Connell, 1971;Janzen, 1970;Le Roux et al, 2013;Perea et al, 2020).…”

Section: Spatial Legacy Of Early Recruitment On the Spatial Structure...mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Legacy effects of seed dispersal mechanisms shape the spatial interaction network of plant species in Mediterranean forests

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Seed dispersal by frugivores plays a key role in structuring and maintaining tree diversity in forests. However, little is known about how the spatial legacy of seed dispersal and early recruitment shapes spatial patterns and the spatial interaction network of plant species in mature forest communities. We analysed two fully mapped mixed Pine–Oak forest communities using spatial point pattern analysis to determine (a) the detailed structure of the intraspecific spatial patterns of saplings and adults, (b) the intra‐ and interspecific spatial interaction of saplings, adults and saplings relative to adults, (c) the spatial patterns of species richness at the community level and (d) whether seed dispersal mechanisms affect the plant–plant interaction networks and the ratio of adult to sapling neighbourhood densities used as surrogate for spatial self‐thinning. The intraspecific spatial patterns of saplings and adults showed in general complex nested cluster structures that were similar for sapling and adult stages, despite substantial self‐thinning in some dry‐fruited species. The spatial network of saplings was characterized by positive spatial interactions. Adults of several tree species facilitated saplings in their proximity; however, adults of dry‐fruited species, but not those of fleshy‐fruited ones, lost almost all positive interactions that occurred at the sapling stage. Besides, interaction strength between adults was positive and often significantly stronger if both species were fleshy‐fruited. At the community level, the forests were structured into multispecies clumps across all life stages. Synthesis. Our analyses highlight the importance of the spatial legacy of seed dispersal and early recruitment in the assembly of plant communities. Particularly, animal seed dispersal can lead to multispecies clusters and positive spatial associations across life stages in Mediterranean forests, with surprisingly little signatures of negative interactions. Our analysis suggests that changes of the spatial structure across plant life stages are driven by seed dispersal mechanisms and subsequent spatial self‐thinning, generating a spatial footprint at the sapling stage that conditions the long‐term interactions between adult plants. Combining spatial point pattern analysis with network analysis and species traits is a promising way to disentangle the processes underlying observed patterns of local diversity.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Consequences Of Seed Dispersal On the Spatial Self-thinning Of Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sampling Design For Point Pattern Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Spatial Legacy Of Early Recruitment On the Spatial Structure...mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Legacy effects of seed dispersal mechanisms shape the spatial interaction network of plant species in Mediterranean forests

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Seed dispersal mechanisms modulate Janzen‐Connell effects in Mediterranean forests through antagonists and mutualists

Perea,

Wiegand,

Bastida

et al. 2024

Functional Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Antagonist and mutualist organisms mediate the long‐standing, classical Janzen‐Connell effects and yet they are rarely investigated, especially when they share plant species hosts. Here, we propose that plant species create an “antagonists‐ and mutualist‐scape” which, coupled with seed dispersal mechanisms, will govern the relative survival rates of juveniles within the landscape and influence their later life stages. We combined data on fully stem mapped plots of woody plant species in two Mediterranean forests (Mixed Forest of Segura [MFS] and Mixed Forest of Jaen [MFJ]) with data on the associated communities of leaf epiphytic fungi, leaf pathogens, sap‐sucking insects and chewer insects hosted by each woody plant species. This allowed us to indirectly test the Janzen‐Connell hypothesis by investigating the placement of plant species with contrasting seed dispersal mechanisms (fleshy fruited vs. dry‐fruited plant) within the antagonists‐ and mutualist‐scapes. More specifically, we determined the degree of host‐specificity of plant‐associated organisms and defined the antagonist‐ or mutualist‐scapes for focal plants as the mean number of antagonist‐ or mutualist species the focal plant shares with its (sapling or adult) plant neighbours, respectively. We then applied multivariate spatial point pattern analysis to test whether saplings and adults of the focal species tended to be located in favourable sites of the antagonist‐scapes (i.e. were neighboured by fewer antagonist species than expected) or were distributed independently of the antagonist‐scapes. A substantial proportion of organisms was associated with more than one plant species, with organisms at MFJ being more “host‐specific” than organisms at MFS. Our spatial analyses revealed spatial patterns that differed strongly between fleshy‐fruited and dry‐fruited species and were, in most cases, consistent with our expectations. For example, saplings of dry‐fruited species were placed in favourable sites in the saplings antagonist‐scapes, whereas saplings of fleshy‐fruited species were independently placed with respect to the saplings antagonist‐scapes. Our results show how the placement of plant species within the antagonist‐scapes changes during the ontogeny, and how this is influenced by Janzen‐Connell effects and the seed dispersal mechanisms. We provide a new approach and indications about the importance of generalist antagonists and mutualists as drivers of the spatial assembly of plant communities. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

show abstract

Mutualistic and antagonistic phyllosphere fungi contribute to plant recruitment in natural communities

Pajares‐Murgó,

Garrido,

Perea

et al. 2024

Journal of Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Phyllosphere fungal communities participate in multiple ecological functions (litter decomposition, disease‐causing, plant defence). However, there is a lack of knowledge on whether and how these functions contribute to plant community dynamics under natural conditions. One of the aspects of plant dynamics in which these fungi can most clearly affect is recruitment, since the success of newly germinated plants can be seriously compromised by pathogenic activity or the absence of mutualistic interactions. To determine the relationship between phyllosphere fungal communities and plant recruitment, we combined published information on the frequency of plant–plant recruitment interactions and phyllosphere fungal communities in 38 woody species from two mixed forests in southern Spain. Our results indicate that phyllosphere pathogens and saprotrophs have a negative effect on canopy–recruit interactions, while epiphytic fungi have a positive effect. Additionally, the presence of canopy species hosting high richness of epiphytes or counting with a high diversity of saprotrophic fungi favours the formation of an abundant sapling bank. Synthesis. Our results suggest that phyllosphere fungi play a relevant role in the assembly of the sapling bank in forest communities, thus, potentially influencing plant community dynamics. Beyond the well‐known negative effect of pathogenic fungi on recruitment, our results show the mutualistic effect of fungal epiphytes and a dual role of saprotrophs as antagonistic, decreasing recruitment of certain species, or mutualistic, enhancing recruitment in the sapling bank.

show abstract

Pathogen life-cycle leaves footprint on the spatial distribution of recruitment of their host plants

Cited by 6 publications

References 62 publications

Legacy effects of seed dispersal mechanisms shape the spatial interaction network of plant species in Mediterranean forests

Legacy effects of seed dispersal mechanisms shape the spatial interaction network of plant species in Mediterranean forests

Seed dispersal mechanisms modulate Janzen‐Connell effects in Mediterranean forests through antagonists and mutualists

Mutualistic and antagonistic phyllosphere fungi contribute to plant recruitment in natural communities

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About