Article
Plant Sciences
Dailos Hernandez-Brito, Pedro Romero-Vidal, Fernando Hiraldo, Guillermo Blanco, Jose A. Diaz-Luque, Jomar M. Barbosa, Craig T. Symes, Thomas H. White, Erica C. Pacifico, Esther Sebastian-Gonzalez, Martina Carrete, Jose L. Tella
Summary: Plant-animal interactions are crucial for sustaining ecosystem function, with a little-known mutualistic relationship revealed between parrots and plants through epizoochory. This mutualism facilitates long-distance dispersal of tiny seeds and potentially aids in the spread of exotic plants. Further studies including parrots are needed for a better understanding of plant dispersal processes and conservation efforts.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
N. Nancia Raoelinjanakolona, Veronarindra Ramananjato, Aristide Andrianarimisa, Angelo F. Andrianiaina, Rindra H. Nantenaina, Onja H. Razafindratsima
Summary: The current threats of environmental changes may disrupt plant-frugivore networks, necessitating a better understanding of their structure and robustness. Through a comparison of plant-frugivore networks in fragmented forest habitats, it was found that the forest edge habitat had higher nestedness and both habitats were highly modular. The loss of small-sized species had a greater impact on network robustness, highlighting the need to preserve species interactions in forest edges.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rod Peakall, Rn Bohman
Summary: A recent study reveals that hornets in tropical forests of China are attracted to fruits of Aquilaria sinensis by volatile compounds that resemble those produced by herbivore-damaged leaves. The hornets disperse the short-lived seeds quickly to optimal new habitats.
Article
Ecology
Annika S. S. Nelson, Mariana Gelambi, Estefania Morales-M., Susan R. R. Whitehead
Summary: Plant secondary metabolites play a key role in species interactions. They not only affect defense, but also have consequences for mutualisms, such as seed dispersal. Fleshy fruits, which attract seed-dispersing animals, often contain complex mixtures of secondary metabolites that can reduce the quantity or quality of seed dispersal mutualisms.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rui-Min Qin, Ping Wen, Richard T. Corlett, Yuanye Zhang, Gang Wang, Jin Chen
Summary: Seed dispersal plays a crucial role in the survival of short-lived seeds of Aquilaria sinensis in tropical southwest China. Vespa hornets attract most seeds by consuming elaiosomes and depositing them in damp shade, facilitating germination 166 meters away from the parent tree. Rapid seed dispersal is achieved through the release of volatile compounds that attract hornets and serve as an indirect defense mechanism for the species.
Article
Ecology
Marie Konecna, Ales Lisner, Petr Blazek, Pavel Pech, Jan Leps
Summary: This study investigates the impact of ant-plant mutualism on pastures and finds that ants play a crucial role in the dispersal of myrmecochorous and non-myrmecochorous plant species, contributing significantly to seed dispersal.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Saidy Mubamba, Norman Nduna, Stanford Siachoono, Moses Chibesa, Darius Phiri, Lackson Chama
Summary: Animal seed dispersal processes play a vital role in ecosystem services, impacting the survival of seed dispersers and the distribution of seeds in plant communities. This study examined avian seed dispersal networks in an urban ecosystem and found that the interactions were highly generalised and stable, suggesting a robust coexistence of species in urban plant-frugivore communities.
Article
Ecology
Luisa Genes, Gianalberto Losapio, Camila I. Donatti, Paulo R. Guimaraes Jr, Rodolfo Dirzo
Summary: This study analyzed a seed dispersal network in the Brazilian Pantanal and found that population biomass, rather than animal density, was the most important predictor of interaction patterns. Larger frugivores dispersed more plant species, had more unique interactions, and had a stronger influence on other species in the network. The study suggests that the increased abundance of small-sized frugivores resulting from the loss of large vertebrates cannot compensate for the disruption of seed dispersal networks.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Tommaso Valdesolo, Silvia Del Vecchio, Gabriella Buffa
Summary: Seed dispersal plays a crucial role in species distribution and assembly. This study examined the link between seed dispersal patterns and coexisting species in a plant community. The findings suggest that seasonal differentiation in seed dispersal may have a greater impact on species assembly than dispersal vectors.
Review
Plant Sciences
Jonathan O. O. Hernandez, Muhammad Naeem, Wajid Zaman
Summary: The ability of plants to find tolerable climatic ranges through seed dispersal varies greatly depending on their life-history traits and habitat characteristics. A systematic review on seed dispersal mechanisms was conducted to understand plant seed movements in changing environments. The review found that the majority of studies were conducted in Spain, Brazil, and the USA, while there was limited data from megadiverse countries and Africa. The effects of land use changes, habitat degradation/disturbances, climate, and extreme weather conditions had the most significant impact on seed dispersal mechanisms and agents.
Article
Ecology
Hui Liu, Jinyu Zhang, Bo Wang
Summary: Scatter-hoarding rodents play important roles in seed dispersal and predation in forest ecosystems. This study investigated the impacts of seed traits on neighbor effects using artificial seeds. The results showed that seed size had a significant effect on seed dispersal, while tannin and nutrient content had relatively little impact on neighbor effects.
Review
Plant Sciences
Sebastian Cordero, Francisca Galvez, Francisco E. Fonturbel
Summary: Exotic species are a major threat to biodiversity, affecting the structure and functioning of natural ecosystems. They can disrupt mutualistic interactions between plants and dispersers by altering dispersal behavior, predation, and transmission of pathogens. However, they can also have positive impacts on native plants and forest regeneration through increased visitation rates, facilitating colonization, enhancing seedling survival, and promoting seed rain and recruitment. Different studies show both similar and opposite results, highlighting the complex nature of native-exotic species interactions. Overall, exotic species management requires a comprehensive understanding of their ecological roles.
Article
Plant Sciences
Jane E. Tuthill, Yvette K. Ortega, Dean E. Pearson
Summary: Most terrestrial plants disperse by seeds, but the relationship between seed traits and plant dispersion patterns is not well understood. This study examined seed traits of 48 plant species in western Montana grasslands to investigate this relationship. It was found that larger-seeded introduced plants were more likely to have dispersal adaptations, suggesting that they may need these adaptations to overcome limitations and barriers. Database seed masses correlated with local estimates, but locally collected data provided more valid results for community-level questions.
Article
Zoology
Zhishu Xiao
Summary: This study aimed to investigate whether scatter-hoarding rodents could act as double mutualists for pollination and seed dispersal of the same Mucuna species. It was found that rodents play key roles in both pollination and seed dispersal of the same plant species, although seed dispersal services were slightly reduced in the absence of squirrels.
INTEGRATIVE ZOOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Boyu Lei, Jifa Cui, Chris Newman, Christina D. Buesching, Zongqiang Xie, David W. Macdonald, Youbing Zhou
Summary: The dispersal-syndrome hypothesis suggests that fruit traits are shaped by selection from frugivores. Recent studies have shown that fruit nutrient content plays a key role in determining mutualistic relationships between plants and seed dispersers, with bird-dispersed fruits being richer in lipids and mixed-dispersed fruits having higher vitamin C content.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
