INVESTIGADORES
VIDAL RUSSELL Romina
artículos
Título:
Consequences of disperser behaviour for seedling establishment of a mistletoe species
Autor/es:
AMICO, GUILLERMO C.; SASAL, YAMILA; VIDAL-RUSSELL, ROMINA; AIZEN, MARCELO A.; MORALES, JUAN MANUEL
Revista:
AUSTRAL ECOLOGY
Editorial:
WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC
Referencias:
Año: 2017
ISSN:
1442-9985
Resumen:
The dispersal process in plants links adults and their offspring. For frugivore-dispersed plants, animalbehaviour can have a strong effect on plant fitness. Many mistletoes are totally dependent on animals thatdeposit seeds on suitable hosts and particular branch diameters. We characterised the seed dispersal and seedlingestablishment of the mistletoe Tristerix corymbosus, which at our study site, is exclusively dispersed by the marsupialDromiciops gliroides. Mistletoes? fruits have a viscous pulp that remains in the seed even after dispersal. Thissubstance adheres the seed to the host branch. We estimated host branch availability in the forest and seed deposition(faeces) by the marsupial in the study area. Specifically, the branch suitability factors we assessed were hostidentity, branch status (alive or dead), branch diameter, height, and canopy cover. Lodged faeces were individuallymarked and the number of seed deposited within these droppings was counted, and we recorded the numberof seedlings with true leaves that had established after 1 year to estimate the probability of seedling establishment.Branch diameter and canopy cover had a significant positive effect on seed deposition probability. Seedlingestablishment probability decreased with the number of seeds deposited per faeces and with canopy cover.In general, the marsupial deposited mistletoe seeds in microsites that increase the chance of seedling establishment.Thus, the movement behaviour of the marsupial has a positive effect on the regeneration process of thismistletoe species.