Distribution, frequency and host patterns of European mistletoe (Viscum album subsp. album) in the major city of Lodz, Poland

The frequency of parasitism of the European mistletoe, Viscum album L. subsp. album, in the city of Lodz, a typical major city in Poland, was investigated. The infection prevalence and intensity of the mistletoe Viscum album subsp. album on its main host, Acer saccharinum as a function of host size was also investigated. The parasite showed a strong preference for alien, planted tree species (i.e. A. saccharinum, Populus×canadensis and Robinia pseudoacacia). In 2009–2011, V. album subsp. album was observed on 28 host taxa of trees and shrubs, which represents the highest diversity of host trees in a single locality in the Poland. Within the studied area 2147 trees were infested by mistletoe. The distribution of mistletoes (V. album subsp. album) among A. saccharinum hosts is significantly aggregated. The intensity of mistletoe infection in the silver maple trees was affected by the individual tree characteristics, such as the height of the tree. The overall level of aggregation as indicated by the variance to mean ratio of mistletoe numbers per host fell within the midrange of values found in other published studies of host-mistletoe interactions. The higher mistletoe infection prevalence in taller trees results from differential dispersal of mistletoe seeds to tall trees as well as differential survival of established mistletoes on tall trees. The incidence of mistletoe was higher in city centre (zone of high density development) than it was on the outskirts of a city (outer marginal zone). It was found that the abundant occurrence of mistletoe was recorded in the stands of increased nitrogen input, while other stands have little or no mistletoe infection present. Thus, this mistletoe species uses both passive and active uptake, which may be a selective advantage in a nutrient-poor environment or on a nutrient-deficient host species.     

The contribution of mistletoes to nutrient returns: Evidence for a critical role in nutrient cycling

Both nutrient cycling and nutrient relationships between mistletoe and host have been widely studied; yet it is unclear whether high nutrient concentrations commonly found in mistletoes affect rates of nutrient cycling. To address this question, we assessed 13 elements in the leaf litter of a temperate eucalypt forest in southern New South Wales, comparing concentrations from trees (Eucalyptus blakelyi, E. dwyeri, and E. dealbata) with and without the hemiparasitic mistletoe Amyema miquelii. Results were in accord with previous research on fresh leaves showing that concentrations of many elements were higher in the mistletoe than the host. This was not the case for all elements; most notably for N, where concentrations were significantly lower in the mistletoe. However, the return of all elements increased with mistletoe infection because of the combined effect of enrichment in mistletoe tissues and high rates of mistletoe litterfall. Annual returns of N and P in leaf litter increased by a factor of 1.65 and 3 respectively, with the greatest increase being for K by a factor of 43 in spring. These increased element returns were not significantly influenced by any changes in host leaf litter quality, as mistletoe infection was not found to affect host element concentrations. Mistletoe infection also altered the spatial and temporal distribution of element returns because of the patchy occurrence of mistletoes and extended period of mistletoe litterfall compared with the host. These findings provide a mechanistic explanation for the role of mistletoes as a keystone resource and, together with comparable results from root‐parasitic plants in boreal tundra and cool‐temperate grasslands, suggest that enhancing nutrient return rates may be a generalized property of parasitic plants.     

The influence of mistletoes on birds in an agricultural landscape of central Mexico

Mistletoes are hemiparasitic flowering plants that function as keystone resources in forests and woodlands of temperate regions, where a positive relationship between mistletoe density and avian species richness has been observed. Mistletoes have been less studied in tropical regions and the relationship between birds and mistletoes has seldom been explored in tropical agricultural systems. Therefore, we studied the presence of infected trees and infection prevalence (i.e., number of parasitized trees/total number of trees) by Psittacanthus (Loranthaceae) mistletoes in 23 hedgerows located in an agricultural landscape of central Mexico during the dry and rainy seasons, and investigated the relationship between bird species richness and abundance and the abundance of mistletoes. We found a mean of 74 mistletoe plants per 100-m transect of only one species, Psittacanthus calyculatus. Thirty-one percent of the trees surveyed were infected and tree species differed in infection prevalence, mesquite (Prosopis laevigata) being the most infected species with 86% of the surveyed trees infected. For both seasons, we found a positive and significant association between bird species richness and number of mistletoe plants. The same pattern was observed for total bird abundance. Many resident and Neotropical migratory birds were observed foraging on mistletoes. Our results show that mistletoes are important in promoting a higher bird species richness and abundance in tropical agricultural landscapes.     

Host-preference and density of woodrose-forming mistletoes (Loranthaceae) on savanna vegetation,South Africa

In the Bushbuckridge region of South Africa host preference and density of two woodrose-forming mistletoes, Erianthemum dregei (Eckl. & Zeyh.) V. Tieghem and Pedistylis galpinii (Schinz ex Sprague) was quantified in relation to land-use (harvested or unharvested), rainfall (high > 660 or low < 660 mm year^–1) and catenal position (top or lower slope). These two mistletoes are generalist hemi-parasites of savanna trees and shrubs occurring on 25 and 17 hosts respectively, seven of which are shared. Thirty-six percent of woody plant species recorded were found to be hosts. Although Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. comprised only 4% of woody plant density in the environment, it was the principal host for both mistletoes, accounting for 71% of total E. dregei and 42% of P. galpinii infection. Mistletoe infection relative to density of Ficus stuhlmanii, Trichilia emetica and Cassine transvaalensis indicated that these were preferential hosts to S. birrea. Mistletoe host preference was negatively correlated with host wood density. Mistletoe number per tree had a weak relationship to canopy size. Mistletoes of all size classes were denser at high rainfall relative to low rainfall sites. Interestingly, the overall mistletoe size class distribution was similar between harvested and unharvested sites. The ratio of living to dead mistletoe was 2 to 1 for E. dregei and 1.5 to 1 for P. galpinii. There are sufficient dead mistletoes in unharvested and harvested areas to satisfy present market demand. Living E. dregei predominated in harvested rather than unharvested areas suggesting that current-harvesting levels had little or no negative effect on the population. In contrast, P. galpinii was denser in unharvested areas possibly owing to its higher market value and thus higher harvesting levels.     

Parasites boost productivity: effects of mistletoe on litterfall dynamics in a temperate Australian forest

The importance of litter in regulating ecosystem processes has long been recognised, with a growing appreciation of the differential contribution of various functional plant groups. Despite the ubiquity of mistletoes in terrestrial ecosystems and their prominence in ecological studies, they are one group that have been overlooked in litter research. This study evaluated the litter contribution from a hemiparasitic mistletoe, Amyema miquelii (Lehm. ex Miq.) Tiegh., in an open eucalypt forest (Eucalyptus blakelyi, E. dwyeri and E. dealbata), at three scales; the forest stand, single trees and individual mistletoes. Litter from mistletoes significantly increased overall litterfall by up to 189%, the amount of mistletoe litter being proportional to the mistletoe biomass in the canopy. The high litter input was due to a much higher rate of mistletoe leaf turnover than that of host trees; the host litterfall and rate of leaf turnover was not significantly affected by mistletoe presence. The additional litter from mistletoes also affected the spatial and temporal distribution of litterfall due to the patchy distribution of mistletoes and their prolonged period of high litterfall. Associated with these changes in litterfall was an increase in ground litter mass and plant productivity, which reflects similar findings with root-parasitic plants. These findings represent novel mechanisms underlying the role of mistletoes as keystone resources and provide further evidence of the importance of parasites in affecting trophic dynamics.     

Host spatial structure and disperser activity determine mistletoe infection patterns

What processes and factors are responsible for species distribution are long-standing questions in ecology and a key element for conservation and management. Mistletoes provide the opportunity to study a forest species whose occurrence is expected to be constrained by multiple factors as a consequence of their life form. We studied the mistletoe Tristerix corymbosus (Loranthaceae) on its most common hosts species in northwest Patagonia. The seeds of this mistletoe are almost exclusively dispersed by the small arboreal and endemic marsupial Dromiciops gliroides (Microbiotheridae). We assessed the underlying causes of plant spatial patterns through point pattern analysis and we used different variables that characterize the neighborhood around each host to analyze the relative effect of host availability, potential for disperser movement and canopy light conditions. We found that potential hosts were strongly aggregated and that the three most common host species were distributed independent of each other. Considering all host species together, infected and non-infected host were individually aggregated but segregated from each other. The aggregated pattern of infected hosts could be explained in part by the template of potential hosts distribution, but was subsequently modulated by the activity of the mistletoe disperser. Potential for disperser movement, the proximity to reproductive mistletoes and habitat complexity, increased mistletoe infection probability. However, neighboring host availability decreased mistletoe infection probability, and tree DBH (used as surrogate for light conditions) had no detectable effect. Our results suggested that the distribution of mistletoe infection was determined by the structure of potential host populations and by the marsupial disperser activity. Compared to bird dispersed mistletoes, the scale of the infection was smaller and the proximity to reproductive mistletoes and habitat complexity were important for seed arrival and infection. The interplay between landscape structure and disperser activity determine the spatial structure of mistletoe future generations.     

Uncorrelated mistletoe infection patterns and mating success with local host specialization in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Psittacanthus calyculatus</Emphasis> (Loranthaceae)

Mistletoe infection between conspecific and interspecific hosts can be restricted by seed dispersal, host-mistletoe compatibility and abiotic factors, yet no studies have linked mistletoe infection patterns and pollination together for understanding mistletoe distribution at a local scale. Psittacanthus calyculatus (Loranthaceae) is a hemiparasitic plant with a broad host range across its geographic distribution. The potential for local host adaptation has been shown using cross-inoculation experiments, in which plants of mistletoe seeds collected from a given host are more likely to survive when they are inoculated on conspecific host trees compared with those inoculated on other host provenances. Here we evaluate host adaptation by describing the local patterns of infection (prevalence and intensity) of P. calyculatus mistletoes on three native host tree species (Alnus acuminata, Quercus crassipes, Salix bonplandiana) and one introduced species (Populus alba) and carried out cross-pollination experiments to examine how pollination affects infection patterns of different host species. Mistletoe infection prevalence (proportion of infection) and infection intensity (mean number of mistletoes per tree) were in general disproportional with respect to the availability of native host tree species but higher to that of non-native host tree species. Cross-pollination experiments showed higher mating success on the native host tree species, suggesting higher local adaptation to specially Q. crassipes. The observed spatial distribution of host tree species and mistletoe infection along with the non-random mating could contribute to local genetic structuring of mistletoe populations.     

Mistletoe Infection in an Oak Forest Is Influenced by Competition and Host Size

Host size and distance from an infected plant have been previously found to affect mistletoe occurrence in woody vegetation but the effect of host plant competition on mistletoe infection has not been empirically tested. For an individual tree, increasing competition from neighbouring trees decreases its resource availability, and resource availability is also known to affect the establishment of mistletoes on host trees. Therefore, competition is likely to affect mistletoe infection but evidence for such a mechanism is lacking. Based on this, we hypothesised that the probability of occurrence as well as the abundance of mistletoes on a tree would increase not only with increasing host size and decreasing distance from an infected tree but also with decreasing competition by neighbouring trees. Our hypothesis was tested using generalized linear models (GLMs) with data on Loranthus europaeus Jacq., one of the two most common mistletoes in Europe, on 1015 potential host stems collected in a large fully mapped plot in the Czech Republic. Because many trees were multi-stemmed, we ran the analyses for both individual stems and whole trees. We found that the probability of mistletoe occurrence on individual stems was affected mostly by stem size, whereas competition had the most important effects on the probability of mistletoe occurrence on whole trees as well as on mistletoe abundance. Therefore, we confirmed our hypothesis that competition among trees has a negative effect on mistletoe occurrence.     

Is the pollen‐limited mistletoe Peraxilla tetrapetala (Loranthaceae) also seed limited?

Abstract Seed production in the endemic New Zealand mistletoe Peraxilla tetrapetala (Loranthaceae) has been shown to be consistently pollen limited, but to date there has been no test of whether the species is also seed limited. If it is not seed limited, then pollen limitation may have no effect on population size. We tested for seed limitation by sowing seeds onto host trees at high and low densities at two sites, and following survival for up to 69 months. Our rationale was that unless there is strong density‐dependent seedling mortality sufficient to negate increases in seed supply, the species would be seed limited. We simultaneously measured pollen limitation at both sites using pollen augmentation. Peraxilla tetrapetala was strongly pollen limited at both sites over 7 years at Ohau (mean Pollen Limitation Index 0.62), and 12 years at Craigieburn (mean PLI 0.44), before and during the seed‐limitation study. There was no significant overall negative effect of density on survival in sown P. tetrapetala seeds over 42–69 months. There was a significant positive effect: seeds were more likely to adhere to branches when sown at high densities. This initial advantage to high‐density seeds was gradually eroded by slightly (but non‐significantly) lower survival rates of adhered seeds at high density. By the end of the study there was no significant difference in overall survival in high and low density plantings. This means that P. tetrapetala was apparently both pollen limited and seed limited at both our sites. Hence, reduced densities of native bird pollinators caused by introduced mammalian carnivores are likely to reduce the density of adult mistletoes in the next generation. However, the generality of this result may be affected by the fact that mistletoes do not have a dense ‘seedling shadow’ under the parent mistletoe.     

Distribution and dispersal of desert mistletoe is scale-dependent, hierarchically nested

Spatial patterns are important to many ecological processes, and scale is a critical component of both patterns and processes. I examined the pattern and scale of the spatial distribution of infection of host plants by the desert mistletoe, Phoradendron californicum, in a landscape that spans several square kilometers. I also studied the relationship between mistletoe infection and seed dispersal. I found elevated seed rain in areas with a high prevalence of mistletoes and I found that a greater proportion of trees receive seeds than are infected, suggesting that mistletoes will be aggregated in space. Using nested analysis of variance and variograms, I found that mistletoe infections were distributed in hierarchical patches. Mistletoes were aggregated within trees and mistletoe prevalence was correlated at scales of <1500 m, and at scales >4000 m. Patterns at the largest scales were correlated with elevation: sites at higher elevations showed reduced mistletoe infection compared to those at lower elevations. I propose that at small scales, mistletoe distributions are primarily the result of aggregation of seed-dispersing birds, and that the elevational effect could reflect the recent colonization of higher elevations by the mistletoes' mesquite hosts or the limits of the mistletoes' physiological tolerance to freezing-induced cavitation.     

Comparative water use and nitrogen relationships in a mistletoe and its host

Summary The impact of the xylem-tapping mistletoe Phoradendron juniperinum on the nitrogen and water relations of its host Juniperus osteosperma was investigated under natural field conditions. Leaf conductance, leaf water potential, and leaf Kjeldahl nitrogen contents were followed through the growing season on mistletoes, infected junipers (separating infected from uninfected stems) and uninfected junipers. Infected trees experienced lower leaf water potentials than uninfected trees and also had lower leaf conductances and lower leaf nitrogen contents. Infected juniper stems had higher conductances than uninfected stems. Mistletoes had higher leaf nitrogen contents than their hosts and much of this nitrogen appeared as arginine, a potential nitrogen storage compound. Photosynthetic rates (per unit leaf area) were significantly higher in junipers than in the mistletoe, and higher in the uninfected than infected junipers. Water use efficiencies as estimated by carbon isotope ratios were significantly lower in mistletoes than in their hosts. Increased mistletoe infestation appeared to increase absolute water use efficiency of both host and mistletoe.Dedicated to Professors D. Wiens (Salt Lake City) and H. Ziegler (München) for initiating our curiosity in mistletoes     

Reduced mycorrhizae on Juniperus monosperma with mistletoe: the influence of environmental stress and tree gender on a plant parasite and a plant-fungal mutualism

Summary We examined how an important plant mutualist (fungal mycorrhizae) interacted with a common tree parasite, a xylem-tapping mistletoe (Phoradendron juniperium Engelm.) growing on one-seeded juniper (Juniperus monosperma Engelm.). We also examined how host tree gender and environmental stress might be involved in this interaction. Four major patterns were observed. First, the mycorrhizal levels of trees of both sexes were negatively correlated with mistletoe density. In comparisons of heavily and lightly infested trees at the stressful site, high mistletoe levels were associated with 27% less mycorrhizae on male trees and 38% less mycorrhizae on the roots of female trees. Second, the reduction of mycorrhizae on trees with high mistletoe levels was slightly but significantly greater for female trees than male trees. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that severe mistletoe infestation suppresses mycoresis and that this suppression is more severe in female trees because of their greater energetic investment in reproduction. Third, female junipers growing in the stressful ash and cinder fields averaged three-fold higher levels of mistletoe infestation than male trees. Fourth, no differences in mistletoe infestation were observed between male and female trees growing in the more favorable soils. Comparisons with other systems suggest that both mistletoes and herbivores have similar interactions with mycorrhizae.     

Carbon and nitrogen parasitism by a xylem‐tapping mistletoe (Tapinanthus oleifolius) along the Kalahari Transect: a stable isotope study

The present study explores the xylem‐tapping parasitism by mistletoe (Tapinanthus oleifolius) on native tree species along the Kalahari Transect (KT) using the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen. Mistletoe‐host pairs were collected at three geographical locations along the KT rainfall gradient in the 2005 and 2006 wet seasons. Foliar total carbon, total nitrogen and their stable isotope compositions (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) were measured. Heterotrophy (H) was calculated using foliar δ¹³C values of mistletoes and their hosts as an indicator of proportion of carbon in the mistletoes derived from host photosynthate. Based on the mistletoe H‐value and relationship between the mistletoe foliar δ¹⁵N and their host foliar δ¹⁵N, the results showed that mistletoes along the KT derived both nitrogen and carbon from their hosts. Mistletoes may regulate water use in relation to nitrogen supply. The proportion of carbon in the mistletoes derived from host photosynthate was between 35% and 78%, and the degree of heterotrophy was species‐specific with only limited annual variation. The study emphasizes the importance of incorporating parasitic associations in future studies on studying carbon, water and nutrient cycling along the Kalahari.     

Mistletoe host-resemblance: A study of herbivory,nitrogen and moisture in two Australian mistletoes and their host trees

Abstract For 150 years mistletoe host-resemblance has been an unsolved puzzle. Mimicry, camouflage, host protection and shape modification by the host tree have all been advanced as possible solutions. No extended examination of herbivory of host-parasite pairs has ever been done, however, to put these explanations to the test. The study was carried out in northeastern Australia from March to July 1994. Rates of leaf herbivory were estimated for seven individuals of Amyema biniflora Barlow (a cryptic mistletoe species), Dendrophthoe glabrescens (Blakely) Barlow (a non-cryptic mistletoe species) and their host trees (Eucalyptus tessellaris F. Muell. and Eucalyptus platyphylla F. Muell., respectively). In addition three measures of leaf palatability–nitrogen content, moisture content and toughness–were also assessed. Variability in mistletoe leaf shape was quantified by measuring the leaf widths of mistletoes on a variety of host tree species. Mistletoes sustained greater levels of herbivory compared to their host trees, but herbivory did not differ between mistletoe species. The non-cryptic mistletoe had lower levels of nitrogen compared to its host tree, but there was no difference in nitrogen levels between the cryptic mistletoe and its host. The moisture content of mistletoe leaves was greater than that of their hosts but not between mistletoe or host species. The mistletoe species had tougher leaves than their host trees. Leaf shape was different for one species of mistletoe growing on different host trees, but constant for another species of mistletoe. The results contradict, in some crucial aspect, all of the mimicry hypotheses currently on offer.     

Mistletoes Play Different Roles in a Modular Host–Parasite Network

Antagonistic interactions between host plants and mistletoes often form complex networks of interacting species. Adequate characterization of network organization requires a combination of qualitative and quantitative data. Therefore, we assessed the distribution of interactions between mistletoes and hosts in the Brazilian Pantanal and characterized the network structure in relation to nestedness and modularity. Interactions were highly asymmetric, with mistletoes presenting low host specificity (i.e., weak dependence) and with hosts being highly susceptible to mistletoe‐specific infections. We found a non‐nested and modular pattern of interactions, wherein each mistletoe species interacted with a particular set of host species. Psittacanthus spp. infected more species and individuals and also caused a high number of infections per individual, whereas the other mistletoes showed a more specialized pattern of infection. For this reason, Psittacanthus spp. were regarded as module hubs while the other mistletoe species showed a peripheral role. We hypothesize that this pattern is primarily the result of different seed dispersal systems. Although all mistletoe species in our study are bird dispersed, the frugivorous assemblage of Psittacanthus spp. is composed of a larger suite of birds, whereas Phoradendron are mainly dispersed by Euphonia species. The larger assemblage of bird species dispersing Psittacanthus seeds may also increase the number of hosts colonized and, consequently, its dominance in the study area. Nevertheless, other restrictions on the interactions among species, such as the differential capacity of mistletoe infections, defense strategies of hosts and habitat types, can also generate or enhance the observed pattern. Abstract in Portuguese is available at http://www.blackwell‐synergy.com/loi/btp .     

Host physiological condition regulates parasitic plant performance: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arceuthobium vaginatum</Emphasis> subsp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">cryptopodum</Emphasis> on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus ponderosa</Emphasis>

Much research has focused on effects of plant parasites on host-plant physiology and growth, but little is known about effects of host physiological condition on parasite growth. Using the parasitic dwarf mistletoe Arceuthobium vaginatum subsp. cryptopodum (Viscaceae) and its host Pinus ponderosa, we investigated whether changes in host physiological condition influenced mistletoe shoot development in northern Arizona forests. We conducted two studies in two consecutive years and used forest thinning (i.e., competitive release) to manipulate host physiological condition. We removed dwarf mistletoe shoots in April, before the onset of the growing season, and measured the amount of regrowth in the first season after forest thinning (Study I: n=38 trees; Study II: n=35 trees). Thinning increased tree uptake of water and carbon in both studies, but had no effect on leaf N concentration or δ¹³C. Mistletoe shoot growth was greater on trees with high uptake of water and carbon in thinned stands than trees with low uptake in unthinned stands. These findings show that increased resource uptake by host trees increases resources to these heterotrophic dwarf mistletoes, and links mistletoe performance to changes in host physiological condition.     

Evolution of larval food plant associations in Delias Hübner butterflies (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)

A review of larval food plants of the genus Delias is presented. Larvae specialize primarily on aerial‐stem and root hemiparasites (“mistletoes”) in the order Santalales. Although butterfly food plant associations have been recorded for only a small proportion of the genus (28 species or ～11%, representing 12/24 species‐groups), available data suggest that the family Loranthaceae is used most frequently (77%), followed by the Santalaceae sensu stricto (14%) and Viscaceae (8%). With the possible exception of Euphorbiaceae (1%), almost all non‐mistletoe records are considered to be erroneous and, in most cases, probably represent the mistletoe host tree on which the larvae sometimes pupate. Of the eight major clades recognized in Delias, food plants have been recorded for six of these, although the majority of records (89%) are for three clades (hyparete, belladonna, nigrina). Optimization of the larval food plant data in the context of recent phylogenetic hypotheses for both butterflies and plants revealed little evidence of cospeciation at the higher systematic levels. The most parsimonious reconstruction was an origin of larval feeding on Loranthaceae, followed by at least six independent colonizations to Santalaceae + Viscaceae. In contrast to related pierids in the Aporiina associated with mistletoes in which further shifts from aerial‐stem mistletoes to distantly related plants (e.g. host trees parasitized by mistletoes) have facilitated differentiation at the generic level, there is no firm evidence to indicate that such secondary, monomorphic shifts have evolved in Delias. However, larvae of D. henningia (pasithoe group of belladonna clade) from Palawan and Luzon, the Philippines, appear to be polymorphic, feeding on both Loranthaceae and Euphorbiaceae.     

Reaching the canopy on the ground: incidence of infection and host-use by mistletoes (Loranthaceae and Viscaceae) on trees felled for timber in Amazonian rainforests

There is a profound absence of knowledge of infestation prevalence and host-use by mistletoes of mature South American tropical rainforests. In this study, we fill this gap using information gathered from felled trees at a logging concession area in Amazonian Brazil. We sampled individuals of 18 tree species, which occurred in two forest physiognomies; open forest with canopy interrupted by palm trees and closed, denser forest, with emergent trees. We hypothesized that infection incidence would be higher in open than in closed forest, irrespective of the mistletoe species involved. In addition, we expected that mistletoe parasitism would be higher on host species that were more abundant, taller, deciduous, and had less dense wood. We sampled 870 individual trees in both sites combined. All but one host species was infected by at least one species of mistletoe. We found 13 mistletoe species/morphospecies, Loranthaceae (7) and Viscaceae (6), parasitizing very different hosts. Mistletoe infection incidence was higher in the closed forest (10.3%) than in the open forest (5.4%). In the closed forest, host height influenced incidence positively, while deciduousness had a negative influence. Our results show that mistletoes are common in the canopy of pristine tropical forests and, contrary to expectations, that infection incidence was higher in the closed forest. The positive relation between infection incidence and host height in this forest type suggests that emergent trees have higher chances of being infected than individuals of correspondent species in the lower forest layers.     

Spatial autocorrelation and dispersal in mistletoes: field and simulation results

The infections of two species of mistletoes in Baja California, Mexico were investigated for spatial patterns of abundance, and for an effect of the dispersal patterns of mistletoe seeds on these spatial patterns. Mistletoe distributions were mapped and the dispersal of mistletoe seeds was observed. Most mistletoes seeds were dispersed locally to the parent tree or to nearby trees. While mistletoe distributions were highly clumped at the level of the individual tree, no spatial pattern was found above the scale of the individual tree. Infected trees were no more clumped than the overall host population, and infected trees had no more mistletoes on nearby surrounding trees than did uninfected trees. Trees showed no spatial autocorrelation in the number of mistletoes they supported. Simulations using a spatially explicit simulation model with local dispersal and stochasticity in seed dispersal, host mortality, and mistletoe mortality were used to interpret the field results. Simulation results suggest that dispersal patterns affect the overall level of variance in the number of mistletoes per tree but do not lead to spatial patterns in abundance above the scale of the tree. Thus, both simulation and field systems give the surprising result that local dispersal does not lead to spatial autocorrelation in the numbers of mistletoes per tree.Abbreviations AI = Arroyo Inspiracion - VSR = Valle San Rafael     

Directed dispersal of mistletoe (Plicosepalus acaciae) by Yellow-vented Bulbuls (Pycnonotus xanthopygos)

We studied avian dispersal of seeds from the hemiparasitic mistletoe Plicosepalus acaciae (Loranthaceae) to its tree hosts Acacia raddiana and A. tortilis in the Syrian–African Rift (Arava) valley, Israel. The Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus xanthopygos) was the sole avian visitor observed feeding on mistletoe fruits. Bulbuls consumed mistletoe fruits whenever they were available, but the fruits only constituted a significant portion of the diet (71% of foraging attempts) when they were most abundant. These birds are potentially good dispersal vectors of P. acaciae because they swallowed the fruit whole and defecated viable seeds that were covered in a viscid pulp, which allowed the seeds to adhere to substrates when voided. In addition, bulbuls spent a large proportion (66–93%) of total observation time perched in Acacia trees, allowing for directed dispersal. Ephemeral river valleys (wadis) with high mistletoe infection were adjacent to those containing no infections, demonstrating that mistletoe dispersal is common within, but not among wadis. This is consistent with the flight behaviour in bulbuls, which do not typically move among wadis. We combined data on bulbul movements between Acacia trees with transit times of mistletoe seeds to create a hypothetical seed shadow as a function of distance from the parent mistletoe plant. Because they are directed dispersers, the movement patterns of bulbuls may explain the current distribution of P. acaciae in the Arava valley.