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Integration of invasive Opuntia spp. by native and alien seed dispersers in the Mediterranean area and the Canary Islands

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Abstract

The success of many alien plant species depends on mutualistic relationships with other species. We describe the assemblage of seed dispersers on three species of alien Opuntia invading Mediterranean and Macaronesian habitats, and examine the quality of such plant-animal interactions. We identified vertebrates consuming O. maxima, O. dillenii and O. stricta fruits by direct observation and collecting droppings and pellets. Phenology of the alien species, as well as that of coexisting native species, was monitored for an entire year. Germination tests of ingested and non-ingested seeds were performed both in the greenhouse and in the field. Seed coat thickness and viability were also measured for all treatments. A great variety of taxa, including reptiles, birds and mammals actively participate in the seed dispersal of Opuntia. Phenology of Opuntia fruits in Menorca and Tenerife overlaps with only a few native fleshy-fruited plants present in the study areas, which suggests an advantage for the invader. Most seeds germinated during the second year of the experiment, independently of the effect produced by the dispersers’ guts. We found great variation in the germination percentage of Opuntia after gut passage and in the effects of ingestion on seed coat thickness. Seed viability was somewhat reduced after gut passage compared to manually depulped seeds. Our results show how different Opuntia species are integrated into native communities by means of mutualistic interactions, with both native and alien dispersers. Although with heterogeneous effects, either type of disperser potentially contributes to the spread of these alien cacti in the recipient areas.

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Acknowledgments

We thank R. Gutiérrez, A. González-Castro, A. Rodríguez, C. Nieves, D. Domínguez and E. Descals for their help in the field and germination tests. We are especially grateful to the staff of the S’Albufera des Grau Natural Park (Menorca), Teno Natural Park (Tenerife), Serra Gelada e islotes Natural Park and the staff of the wildlife rehabilitation centre “La Granja” for their continuous logistic support. O. García was particularly helpful at providing the contacts to work in the study sites in Menorca. S. Pons, A. Bertolero and V. Pérez-Mellado kindly help us with droppings’ identification. M. Fuster helped with the map in the Fig. 1. We also thank D. Simberloff and one anonymous reviewer for valuable comments provided on a previous version of this manuscript. Research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education and FEDER funds of the European Union (CGL2004-0161BOS and CGL2007-61165BOS projects). Some authors have been funded by several Spanish grants (BP: Spanish Ministry of Science and Education, AMA: JAE-doc CSIC, DPP: Canarian Government and PM: Proyectos Intramurales CSIC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Island Ecology and Evolution Research Group (IPNA-CSIC), Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez 3, 38206, La Laguna (Tenerife), Canary Islands, Spain

    Benigno Padrón, Manuel Nogales, David P. Padilla & Patricia Marrero

  2. Terrestrial Ecology Group, Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats (IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB)), Miquel Marquès, 21, 07190, Esporles (Mallorca), Balearic Islands, Spain

    Benigno Padrón & Anna Traveset

  3. Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avda. Américo Vespucio s/n, Isla de la Cartuja, 41092, Sevilla, Spain

    Montserrat Vilà

  4. Population Ecology Group, Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats (IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB)), Miquel Marquès 21, 07190, Esporles (Mallorca), Balearic Islands, Spain

    Alejandro Martínez-Abraín

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  1. Benigno Padrón
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  2. Manuel Nogales
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  3. Anna Traveset
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  4. Montserrat Vilà
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Correspondence to Benigno Padrón.

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Padrón, B., Nogales, M., Traveset, A. et al. Integration of invasive Opuntia spp. by native and alien seed dispersers in the Mediterranean area and the Canary Islands. Biol Invasions 13, 831–844 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-010-9872-y

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