Seed predation as a barrier to alien conifer invasions |
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Authors: | Martin A Nuñez Daniel Simberloff Maria Andrea Relva |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, 569 Dabney Hall, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA;(2) Laboratorio Ecotono, Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Quintal 1250, 8400 Bariloche, RN, Argentina |
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Abstract: | Interactions between exotic plants and animals can play a major role in determining success or failure of plant introductions.
Seed predation has been seen as important in explaining biotic resistance to plant invasion, but this hypothesis has rarely
been tested. We studied seed predation on exotic forest plants on an island in Patagonia, Argentina where 43 pine species,
including 60% of the world’s known invasive Pinaceae, were introduced ca. 80 years ago, but where exotics attain relatively
high densities only near the original plantings. To test if seed predation limits exotic conifer establishment in this area,
we compared seed predation in areas close to plantations (colonized by exotics) and far from them (not invaded). Seeds of
exotics were preferred over seeds of native species, possibly because exotic seeds are bigger. Predation was more intense
in areas far from plantations than in areas close to them, substantially reducing the chances of exotic seed establishment.
Using automatic cameras, we found that both rodents and birds preyed on exotic seeds. This study suggests that native seed
predators can be an important component of biological resistance to plant invasion. |
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Keywords: | Biological invasions Biotic resistance Patagonia Pinaceae Pine invasion Seed size Seedling herbivory |
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