INVESTIGADORES
DIMARCO Romina Daniela
artículos
Título:
Exotic mammals disperse exotic fungi that promote invasion by exotic trees
Autor/es:
NUÑEZ MARTIN A.; HAYWARD JEREMY; HORTON THOMAS R.; AMICO GUILLERMO C. ; DIMARCO ROMINA D.; BARRIOS-GARCIA M. NOELIA ; SIMBERLOFF DANIEL
Revista:
PLOS ONE
Editorial:
PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE
Referencias:
Lugar: San Francisco; Año: 2013 vol. 8 p. 66832 - 66832
ISSN:
1932-6203
Resumen:
Biological invasions are often complex phenomena because many factors influence their outcome. One key aspect is how
non-natives interact with the local biota. Interaction with local species may be especially important for exotic species that
require an obligatory mutualist, such as Pinaceae species that need ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi. EM fungi and seeds of
Pinaceae disperse independently, so they may use different vectors. We studied the role of exotic mammals as dispersal
agents of EM fungi on Isla Victoria, Argentina, where many Pinaceae species have been introduced. Only a few of these tree
species have become invasive, and they are found in high densities only near plantations, partly because these Pinaceae
trees lack proper EM fungi when their seeds land far from plantations. Native mammals (a dwarf deer and rodents) are rare
around plantations and do not appear to play a role in these invasions. With greenhouse experiments using animal feces as
inoculum, plus observational and molecular studies, we found that wild boar and deer, both non-native, are dispersing EM
fungi. Approximately 30% of the Pinaceae seedlings growing with feces of wild boar and 15% of the seedlings growing with
deer feces were colonized by non-native EM fungi. Seedlings growing in control pots were not colonized by EM fungi. We
found a low diversity of fungi colonizing the seedlings, with the hypogeous Rhizopogon as the most abundant genus. Wild
boar, a recent introduction to the island, appear to be the main animal dispersing the fungi and may be playing a key role in
facilitating the invasion of pine trees and even triggering their spread. These results show that interactions among nonnatives help explain pine invasions in our study area.