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Common seed dispersers contribute most to the persistence of a fleshy-fruited tree
Mutualistic interactions are by definition beneficial for each contributing partner. However, it is insufficiently understood how mutualistic interactions influence partners throughout their lives. Here, we used animal species-explicit, microhabitat-structured integral projection models to quanti...
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| Autoren: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Artikel |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Veröffentlicht: |
Philipps-Universität Marburg
2023
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| Schlagworte: | |
| Online Zugang: | PDF-Volltext |
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| Zusammenfassung: | Mutualistic interactions are by definition beneficial for each contributing partner. However, it
is insufficiently understood how mutualistic interactions influence partners throughout their
lives. Here, we used animal species-explicit, microhabitat-structured integral projection
models to quantify the effect of seed dispersal by 20 animal species on the full life cycle of
the tree Frangula alnus in Białowieża Forest, Eastern Poland. Our analysis showed that animal
seed dispersal increased population growth by 2.5%. The effectiveness of animals as seed
dispersers was strongly related to the interaction frequency but not the quality of seed
dispersal. Consequently, the projected population decline due to simulated species extinction
was driven by the loss of common rather than rare mutualist species. Our results support the
notion that frequently interacting mutualists contribute most to the persistence of the
populations of their partners, underscoring the role of common species for ecosystem
functioning and nature conservation. |
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| Beschreibung: | Gefördert durch den Open-Access-Publikationsfonds der UB Marburg. |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s42003-023-04647-y |