Los herbívoros se mueven, pero sus recursos no

 

(See English version below)

El pasado 30 de setiembre, el equipo del Grupo de Ecología Espacial estuvo presente en la Noche Europea de los Investigadores celebrada en Sevilla, desarrollando la actividad Los herbívoros se mueven, pero sus recursos no: ¿Podemos proteger la vegetación de Doñana ante el cambio climático?

Esta actividad, basada en el trabajo que desarrollamos actualmente dentro del proyecto SUMHAL-WP3 y en los resultados de otros proyectos previos (como el proyecto GRAZE), buscaba familiarizar a los participantes con los ungulados del Parque Nacional de Doñana; presentaba varios ejemplos practicos de las metodologías que usamos para investigar su comportamiento trófico, uso del espacio e interacciones con la vegetación; y mostraba algunos ejemplos de las actuaciones de gestión realizadas para reducir el impacto que genera la sobreherbivoría en este espacio protegido.

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Last September 30th, a team of the Spatial Ecology Group was present during the European Researcherers' Night in Sevilla. The presented the activity Herbivores move, but their food resources don't: Will we be able to protect Doñana's vegetation against climate change? 

The activity was based on the corrent research undertook by the SUMHAL-WP3 project, as well as in the results of previous research project such as GRAZE. It aimed at familiarizing participants with Doñana's ungulates; presenting the methodologies used to investigate their trophic behaviour, space use and their interactions with the vegetation; and showed several examples of the management measures used to reduce their impact on the vegetation of this iconic protected area.

Extending the seed dispersal effectiveness framework across the mutualism–antagonism continuum

 

The seed dispersal effectiveness (SDE) framework provides a mechanistic approach to evaluate evolutionary and ecological characteristics of animal-mediated seed dispersal, by synthesising the quantity and the quality of the dispersal that a plant species receives from each of its animal dispersers. However, the application of the SDE framework has been largely restricted to plant–frugivore interactions, whereas animal-mediated seed dispersal results from plant–disperser interactions that cover a continuum from pure mutualisms to antagonisms.

In the article "A seed dispersal effectiveness framework across the mutualism–antagonism continuum", recently published in Oikos, an international team of researchers (including Nacho Villar and Luis Santamaría from the SEG) propose an extended SDE framework aiming at including plant–disperser interactions in the full mutualism–antagonism continuum, ranging from pure mutualisms (frugivores) to conditional mutualisms (scatter-hoarding granivores and folivores) and antagonisms (pure granivores).

Examples used to illustrate how it can be applied to compare effectiveness among plant–disperser interaction types indicate that vertebrate species differ more in the number of seeds they deposit away from the mother plant (quantity), than in the effects such dispersal processes have on seed fate (quality). Scatter-hoarding granivores provide the most effective dispersal due to high removal rates, closely followed by frugivores due to high deposition rates. Folivores and pure granivores provide low quantity dispersal, but of high and moderate quality, respectively. These early comparative insights illustrate the necessity and usefulness of more standardized data collection protocols, for which we provide recommendations. 

Applying the eSDE framework can reveal broad-scale patterns across and within plant–disperser interaction types, which will advance our evolutionary understanding of plant–animal interactions. This will provide new insights into the consequence of anthropogenic impacts on vertebrate-mediated seed dispersal in a world in which plant–animal interactions are increasingly threatened.

Reference: van Leeuwen, C.H.A., Villar, N., Mendoza Sagrera, I., Green, A.J., Bakker, E.S., Soons, M.B., Galetti, M., Jansen, P.A., Nolet, B.A. and Santamaría, L. (2022), A seed dispersal effectiveness framework across the mutualism–antagonism continuum. Oikos e09254. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.09254