Pairwise plant-frugivore interactions build up into mega-diverse networks involving dozens and even hundreds of interacting species. Because seed dispersal is serviced by multiple species, studies focusing only on pairwise interactions will underestimate levels of biodiversity required to maintain multifunctional networks.
The loss of biodiversity in these assemblages entails losses of key functional services, and some of these losses may remain cryptic, i.e., their consequences are undetected well after the loss.
Join us as we explore several recent study cases documenting the extinction of seed dispersal interactions, and the loss of associated services that may occur well before the partner species become extinct.
Gain insight into:
Last-generation sequencing (DNA barcoding) to identify species-specific contributions to the seed shadows and estimate demographic and genetic influences derived from interactions.
Why most seed dispersal mutualisms show a high functional complementarity among frugivore species in terms of seed deposition at different habitats, perches and distance sectors, cross-habitat seed fluxes, dispersal distances and canopy-cover dependency.
How the full functionality of the seed dispersal mutualism relies in this complementarity across a high diversity of partners, and how disruptions of these mutualisms driven by anthropogenic factors may remain subtle and undetected despite being pervasive for ecosystem functioning.
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China
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