Matrix effects on plant-frugivore and plant-predator interactions in forest fragments |
| |
| Authors: | José M Herrera Daniel García Juan M Morales |
| |
| Institution: | 1.Departamento de Biología de Organismos y Sistemas,Universidad de Oviedo and Instituto Cantábrico de Biodiversidad (ICAB),Oviedo,Spain;2.Laboratorio Ecotono,INBIOMA (Conicet-Universidad Nacional del Comahue),Bariloche,Argentina |
| |
| Abstract: | Structural features of both habitat remnants and surrounding matrix can be important for explaining plant population dynamics
and ecosystem functions in human-impacted landscapes. However, little is known about how the structural features of the adjacent
matrix affect biotic interactions and whether such context effects are subject to temporal variations. Using the hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna in northern Spain, we studied matrix effects on two sequential plant-animal interactions, frugivory by birds and postdispersal
seed predation by rodents. Using Hierarchical Linear Models, we compared the magnitude of both interactions on trees located
in two patch types that strongly differed in structural features of the adjacent matrix habitat: patches totally surrounded
by a degraded, structurally contrasted pastures (unconnected patches), and trees growing in patches adjacent to a lowly degraded,
structurally similar mature forests (connected patches). We compared outcomes for 2005 and 2006, which were years with strong
differences in community-wide fruit and seed abundance. Frugivory rate did not differ between patch types in either year,
likely related to high mobility of birds. Seed predation rates were higher in unconnected patches than in connected ones,
but only in 2005. We conclude that strong interannual fluctuations in resource availability are not rare in temperate systems
and that recruitment rates could be frequently reduced within unconnected patches, thus collapsing plant regeneration processes
of hawthorn populations. Overall, our results suggest that generalizations about potential effects of the matrix on plant-animal
interactions within remnant patches must consider: (1) species-specific habitat responses of the organisms, (2) suitability
of neighbouring habitats in terms of food supply, and (3) temporal variations in plant-resource availability for interacting
animals. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
