PERSONAL DE APOYO
AMODEO Martin Raul
capítulos de libros
Título:
Phenology of Prunus mahaleb, a Fleshy Fruited Tree Invading Natural Grasslands in Argentine Pampas
Autor/es:
AMODEO, M.R.; ZALBA, S.M.
Libro:
Biological Invasions: Patterns, Management and Economic Impacts
Editorial:
Nova Science Publishers
Referencias:
Lugar: New York; Año: 2015; p. 121 - 141
Resumen:
Natural grasslands are one of the ecosystems that have suffered the most intense series of human changes, even though they have not received enough conservation efforts. The proliferation of invasive shrubs and trees over grasslands and savannas around the world has been one of their severest modifications during the last century. The last remnants of South American Pampas are not the exception, with a set of invasive plants of diverse origins thriving over native biodiversity. Among them, those producing animal-dispersed fruits represent a case of particular interest. St. Lucie?s cherry (Prunus mahaleb L.) is a small fleshy-fruited tree native to Eurasia that invades natural grasslands in Southern Pampas, where we registered twenty animal species contributing to its dispersal. In this chapter, we analyze temporal variations in flowering and availability of ripe fruits at the individual and population level. The phenology in the area matches with reports from its native range,showing short flowering (19-22 days) and fruiting periods (27-34 days). Synchronicity in flowering and ripening of fruits are consistent with generalist strategies in plant-animal interactions, maximizing crosspollination probabilities and the attraction of several generalist dispersal agents. We postulate that the lack of reproductive phenological overlapping with similar plants may play a key role in its invasion success. Our results suggest that the protection and shading of other trees might permit the fruits to remain in good condition in the canopies for the frugivores during longer periods. In early January, a massive fruit fall occurs and this might change the main dispersal role from birds consuming fruits in the canopies to mammals eating them directly from the floor, being the formers more related to short-distance dispersal and the latter possibly associated to long distance spread. Big trees with high density of fruits beneath the canopy might act as attraction foci to mammals and might have a key role in promoting long-distance dispersal. This suggests that part of the control efforts should be devoted to manage fruit availability in those attraction foci. P. mahaleb reproductive biology and its interactions with dispersal agents can explain to a considerable extent its invasive capacity in the study site and offer valuable information for its management. Incorporating these perspectives on mutualisms and invader-ecosystem interactions might improve the ability to predict invasion processes and contribute to better management decisions in other ecosystems invaded by similar fleshy-fruited species.