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Source-sink dynamics within a plant population: the impact of substrate and herbivory on palm demography

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Population Ecology

Abstract

Site factors have frequently been shown to affect survival, growth, and reproduction in plant populations. The source-sink concept proposed by Pulliam is one way of integrating this spatial demographic variation into population models. Source-sink models describe a population where propagules from “source” habitats sustain less productive “sink” areas. We adapted this concept to model the population dynamics of the understory palm Chamaedorea radicalis on two substrates, rock outcrops and forest floor. In our model, sources and sinks correspond to fine-scale demographic structure within the population, rather than spatially discrete subpopulations as described in the Pulliam model. We constructed a stage-structured population matrix model that integrates the site-specific demography of individuals across two habitats types that are linked by migration. We then parameterized this model with field data from C. radicalis. To address whether observed differences in palm demography between rock outcrops and the forest floor were due to natural variation between microsites or due to differences in browsing intensity from free range livestock, we parameterized separate models based on the substrate-specific demography of protected, non-browsed palms and of palms exposed to burro browse. Results showed that herbivory reduced survival and fecundity on the forest floor, which in the absence of seed migration resulted in a projected decline of forest floor palms (sinks). However with seed dispersal, palms persisted and total population growth (both substrates) was projected to be positive, indicating that seed dispersal from non-browsed palms on rock outcrops (sources) was sufficient to sustain C. radicalis on the forest floor.

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Acknowledgments

We express our appreciation to the villages of Alta Cima and San José for their hospitality and cooperation. We thank Eduardo Padrón Serrano, Don Pedro Gonzaléz, and Pedro Gonzaléz for help with field research, and two anonymous reviewers for comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. Permission to study in El Cielo was granted by the Secretary for Urban Development and Ecology (SEDUE), Division of Wildlife in Cd. Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico. This study was funded by an Ohio Academic Challenge Grant and funds from a summer workshop in field research through the Department of Botany at Miami University. This research represents a portion of the PhD dissertation of E.J.B.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, Saint Anselm College, 100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester, NH, 03102, USA

    Eric J. Berry

  2. Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    David L. Gorchov & Martin Henry H. Stevens

  3. Conservation and Research for Endangered Species, San Diego Zoo, Escondido, CA, 92027, USA

    Bryan A. Endress

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  1. Eric J. Berry
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  2. David L. Gorchov
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  3. Bryan A. Endress
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  4. Martin Henry H. Stevens
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Correspondence to Eric J. Berry.

Appendices

Appendix 1

Table 3 Proportion of adult C. radicalis fruiting, and mean fruits per fruiting adult for rock outcrops versus forest floor
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Appendix 2

Table 4 Single-substrate projection matrices for browsed and non-browsed (control) C. radicalis
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Berry, E.J., Gorchov, D.L., Endress, B.A. et al. Source-sink dynamics within a plant population: the impact of substrate and herbivory on palm demography. Popul Ecol 50, 63–77 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10144-007-0067-z

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