Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/26719
Title: Seed Predation by Neotropical Rain Forest Mammals Increases Diversity in Seedling Recruitment
Contributor(s): Paine, C E Timothy  (author)orcid ; Beck, Harald (author)
Publication Date: 2007-12
Early Online Version: 2007-12-01
DOI: 10.1890/06-1835.1
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/26719
Abstract: Seed dispersal and seedling recruitment (the transition of seeds to seedlings) set the spatiotemporal distribution of new individuals in plant communities. Many terrestrial rain forest mammals consume post-dispersal seeds and seedlings, often inflicting density-dependent mortality. In part because of density-dependent mortality, diversity often increases during seedling recruitment, making it a critical stage for species coexistence. We determined how mammalian predators, adult tree abundance, and seed mass interact to affect seedling recruitment in a western Amazonian rain forest. We used exclosures that were selectively permeable to three size classes of mammals: mice and spiny rats (weighing <1 kg), medium sized rodents (1-12 kg), and large mammals (20-200 kg). Into each exclosure, we placed seeds of 13 tree species and one canopy liana, which varied by an order of magnitude in adult abundance and seed mass. We followed the fates of the seeds and resulting seedlings for at least 17 months. We assessed the effect of each mammalian size class on seed survival, seedling survival and growth, and the density and diversity of the seedlings that survived to the end of the experiment. Surprisingly, large mammals had no detectable effect at any stage of seedling recruitment. In contrast, small- and medium-sized mammals significantly reduced seed survival, seedling survival, and seedling density. Furthermore, predation by small mammals increased species richness on a per-stem basis. This increase in diversity resulted from their disproportionately intense pr?dation on common species and large-seeded species. Small mammals thereby generated a rare-species advantage in seedling recruitment, the critical ingredient for frequency dependence. Predation by small (and to a lesser extent, medium-sized) mammals on seeds and seedlings significantly increases tree species diversity in tropical forests. This is the first long-term study to dissect the effects of various mammalian predators on the recruitment of a diverse set of tree species.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Ecology, 88(12), p. 3076-3087
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Place of Publication: United States of America
ISSN: 1939-9170
0012-9658
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 060202 Community Ecology (excl. Invasive Species Ecology)
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 960806 Forest and Woodlands Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Environmental and Rural Science

Files in This Item:
1 files
File SizeFormat 
Show full item record

SCOPUSTM   
Citations

86
checked on Mar 9, 2024

Page view(s)

848
checked on Mar 8, 2023

Download(s)

2
checked on Mar 8, 2023
Google Media

Google ScholarTM

Check

Altmetric


Items in Research UNE are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.