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Species identity influences secondary removal of seeds of Neotropical pioneer tree species

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Abstract

Primary dispersal agents move seeds from the maternal plant to the soil surface where they are often moved again by secondary dispersal agents. However, the extent to which different species in the same location experience secondary dispersal is often unknown despite the importance of this mechanism for determining recruitment opportunities and consequently community structure. Here we examine the secondary removal rates of 12 Neotropical pioneer species placed either on or 2 cm below the soil surface at five locations in lowland tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. We investigated whether species identity, primary dispersal mode (animal or wind), dormancy type, seed mass, and capacity to persist in the seed bank were correlated with removal rate. We also investigated whether season (dry or wet) influences removal from the soil surface. In general, both superficial and buried seeds were highly mobile. We found an effect of primary dispersal mode and dormancy type on removal rates both on (12 species) and beneath the soil surface (six species). However, this pattern was largely driven by species identity. Season had no influence on seed removal rates from the soil surface. The dispersal of small-seeded pioneer species is highly species dependent, indicating that generalizations made using broader categories, such as primary dispersal mode or dormancy type, do not accurately describe the observed patterns hindering our understanding of community assembly within even a single functional group of plants.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) for providing facilities, logistical support, and permission to conduct the project. We thank the University of Illinois Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship-Vertically Integrated Training with Genomics training fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Department of Graduate Education Grant-1069157, NSF Department of Environmental Biology Grant-1120205 to JWD, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute-Butler University internship program for funding. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments.

Funding

This study was funded by University of Illinois Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship-Vertically Integrated Training with Genomics training fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Department of Graduate Education Grant-1069157, NSF Department of Environmental Biology Grant-1120205 to JWD, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute-Butler University internship program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 515 Morrill Hall, 505 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Selina A. Ruzi

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, 915 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Daniel P. Roche

  3. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Republic of Panama

    Paul-Camilo Zalamea & James W. Dalling

  4. Department of Biology, Butler University, 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis, IN, 46208, USA

    Abigail C. Robison

  5. Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 265 Morrill Hall, 505 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    James W. Dalling

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  1. Selina A. Ruzi
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  2. Daniel P. Roche
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  3. Paul-Camilo Zalamea
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Correspondence to Selina A. Ruzi.

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Communicated by Miguel Franco.

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Ruzi, S.A., Roche, D.P., Zalamea, PC. et al. Species identity influences secondary removal of seeds of Neotropical pioneer tree species. Plant Ecol 218, 983–995 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-017-0745-7

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