Seed dispersal by macaws shapes the landscape of an Amazonian ecosystem

Abstract Seed dispersal is one of the most studied plant–animal mutualisms. It has been proposed that the dispersal of many large-seeded plants from Neotropical forests was primarily conducted by extinct megafauna, and currently by livestock. Parrots can transport large fruits using their beaks, but...

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Autores principales:	Adrián Baños-Villalba, Guillermo Blanco, José A. Díaz-Luque, Francisco V. Dénes, Fernando Hiraldo, José L. Tella
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f2385566a1584b83b8256f2565d7a8d0
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f2385566a1584b83b8256f2565d7a8d02021-12-02T12:30:26ZSeed dispersal by macaws shapes the landscape of an Amazonian ecosystem10.1038/s41598-017-07697-52045-2322https://doaj.org/article/f2385566a1584b83b8256f2565d7a8d02017-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-07697-5https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Seed dispersal is one of the most studied plant–animal mutualisms. It has been proposed that the dispersal of many large-seeded plants from Neotropical forests was primarily conducted by extinct megafauna, and currently by livestock. Parrots can transport large fruits using their beaks, but have been overlooked as seed dispersers. We demonstrate that three macaws (Ara ararauna, A. glaucogularis and A. severus) are the main dispersers of the large-seeded motacú palm Attalea princeps, which is the biomass-dominant tree in the Bolivian Amazonian savannas. Macaws dispersed fruits at high rates (75–100% of fruits) to distant (up to 1200 m) perching trees, where they consumed the pulp and discarded entire seeds, contributing to forest regeneration and connectivity between distant forests islands. The spatial distribution of immature palms was positively associated to the proximity to macaws’ perching trees and negatively to the proximity to cattle paths. The disperser role of livestock, presumably a substitute for extinct megafauna, had little effect due to soil compaction, trampling and herbivory. Our results underscore the importance of macaws as legitimate, primary dispersers of large-seeded plants at long distances and, specifically, their key role in shaping the landscape structure and functioning of this Amazonian biome.Adrián Baños-VillalbaGuillermo BlancoJosé A. Díaz-LuqueFrancisco V. DénesFernando HiraldoJosé L. TellaNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Adrián Baños-Villalba Guillermo Blanco José A. Díaz-Luque Francisco V. Dénes Fernando Hiraldo José L. Tella Seed dispersal by macaws shapes the landscape of an Amazonian ecosystem
description	Abstract Seed dispersal is one of the most studied plant–animal mutualisms. It has been proposed that the dispersal of many large-seeded plants from Neotropical forests was primarily conducted by extinct megafauna, and currently by livestock. Parrots can transport large fruits using their beaks, but have been overlooked as seed dispersers. We demonstrate that three macaws (Ara ararauna, A. glaucogularis and A. severus) are the main dispersers of the large-seeded motacú palm Attalea princeps, which is the biomass-dominant tree in the Bolivian Amazonian savannas. Macaws dispersed fruits at high rates (75–100% of fruits) to distant (up to 1200 m) perching trees, where they consumed the pulp and discarded entire seeds, contributing to forest regeneration and connectivity between distant forests islands. The spatial distribution of immature palms was positively associated to the proximity to macaws’ perching trees and negatively to the proximity to cattle paths. The disperser role of livestock, presumably a substitute for extinct megafauna, had little effect due to soil compaction, trampling and herbivory. Our results underscore the importance of macaws as legitimate, primary dispersers of large-seeded plants at long distances and, specifically, their key role in shaping the landscape structure and functioning of this Amazonian biome.
format	article
author	Adrián Baños-Villalba Guillermo Blanco José A. Díaz-Luque Francisco V. Dénes Fernando Hiraldo José L. Tella
author_facet	Adrián Baños-Villalba Guillermo Blanco José A. Díaz-Luque Francisco V. Dénes Fernando Hiraldo José L. Tella
author_sort	Adrián Baños-Villalba
title	Seed dispersal by macaws shapes the landscape of an Amazonian ecosystem
title_short	Seed dispersal by macaws shapes the landscape of an Amazonian ecosystem
title_full	Seed dispersal by macaws shapes the landscape of an Amazonian ecosystem
title_fullStr	Seed dispersal by macaws shapes the landscape of an Amazonian ecosystem
title_full_unstemmed	Seed dispersal by macaws shapes the landscape of an Amazonian ecosystem
title_sort	seed dispersal by macaws shapes the landscape of an amazonian ecosystem
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/f2385566a1584b83b8256f2565d7a8d0
work_keys_str_mv	AT adrianbanosvillalba seeddispersalbymacawsshapesthelandscapeofanamazonianecosystem AT guillermoblanco seeddispersalbymacawsshapesthelandscapeofanamazonianecosystem AT joseadiazluque seeddispersalbymacawsshapesthelandscapeofanamazonianecosystem AT franciscovdenes seeddispersalbymacawsshapesthelandscapeofanamazonianecosystem AT fernandohiraldo seeddispersalbymacawsshapesthelandscapeofanamazonianecosystem AT joseltella seeddispersalbymacawsshapesthelandscapeofanamazonianecosystem
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Seed dispersal by macaws shapes the landscape of an Amazonian ecosystem

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