Non-redundancy in seed dispersal and germination by native and introduced frugivorous birds: implications of invasive bird impact on native plant communities

MARTIN ALBARRACIN, VALERIA LETICIA; NUÑEZ, MARTIN ANDRÉS; AMICO, GUILLERMO

BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2018 vol. 27 p. 3793 - 3806

0960-3115

Seed dispersal byvertebrate animals is important for the establishment of many fleshy-fruitedplant species. Different frugivorous species can provide different seed dispersalservices according to their specific dietary preferences as well as behaviourand body traits (e. g. body size and beak size of birds). Our aim was to study redundanciesand complementarities in seed dispersal and germination between the two main nativeseed disperser birds and the introduced silver pheasant Lophura nycthemera in the temperate Patagonian forests. For this,we collected fresh droppings from the studied species and analyzed seed content.We conducted germination trials for four plant species common in birddroppings; two native species (Aristoteliachilensis and Rhaphithamnus spinosus)and two invasive non-native species (Rubusulmifolius and Rosa rubiginosa). Bothnative frugivorous birds and the silver pheasant dispersed fruits of non-native fleshy-fruited plants, but their roles were non-redundant in terms ofspecies dispersed and effect on seed germination. The silver pheasant disperseda proportionally high number of non-native seeds, while native birds disperseda high number of native seeds. In addition, the effect of gut treatment in seedgermination differed between seed dispersers. Native birds promoted thegermination for the two native plant species studied, while the silver pheasantpromoted the germination of one non-native plant. This suggests that seeddispersal by the silver pheasant may contribute to the spread of some invasivefleshy-fruited plants in the ecosystems that otherwise would not be dispersedby any other bird. The understanding of redundancies and complementarities onseed dispersal and germination between native and introduced birds will allowimproving the management of fleshy-fruited non-native plants.