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Edge-mediated patterns of seed removal in experimentally connected and fragmented landscapes

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Abstract

While biological reserves remain central to biodiversity conservation, the amount of area available for terrestrial reserves may be inadequate for many taxa. Biodiversity spillover—the promotion of diversity in matrix areas surrounding reserves—might help address this shortfall in reserve area. However, the mechanistic underpinning of spillover remains uninvestigated. Two fundamental processes—seed dispersal and establishment—might generate plant biodiversity spillover. Here, we investigate the role of establishment in promoting spillover by assessing post-dispersal seed predation, a key component of establishment, in the matrix of a replicated, large-scale habitat fragmentation experiment, where spillover is elevated around patches connected by landscape corridors. Our results show that matrix seed predation may constrain the distance of this spillover effect by reducing establishment: seed removal was least at the matrix edge and increased further into the matrix. We found some support for matrix seed predation underpinning previously reported landscape-level variation in spillover. Of the three species we investigated, two showed evidence for elevated seed predation in the matrix surrounding the unconnected patches around which the lowest levels of spillover occur. However, seed predation did not explain connectivity-enhanced spillover, suggesting that seed dispersal likely drives this pattern. Management activities that increase seed deposition in the matrix may have beneficial effects via spillover. Our work also illustrates that matrix-mediated gradients in seed predation may be widespread, but likely vary depending upon matrix composition and the ecological system under consideration. In fragmented landscapes, this gradient could impact the distribution, abundance, and spread of plant species.

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Acknowledgments

We thank J. Blake and the USDA Forest Service-Savannah River staff for supporting the creation and maintenance of the experimental landscapes, N. Haddad and D. Levey for their roles in designing and implementing the landscape experiment, E. Damschen, N. Haddad, D. Levey, and J. Tewksbury for their roles in maintaining the landscape experiment, and M. Burt, L. Dlugolecki, M. Habenicht, Q. Mortell, U. Nagendra, L. Peck, and S. Wagner for field assistance. We appreciate comments by N. Haddad on a previous version of the manuscript. This research was supported by an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) supplement to NSF DEB-0614333 and by funds provided to the Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Savannah River, under Interagency Agreement DE-AI09-00SR22188 with the Department of Energy, Aiken, SC.

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  1. Michael T. Craig

    Present address: , 1722 Nineteenth Street Northwest, Apartment 707, Washington, DC, 20009-1623, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63130-4899, USA

    Michael T. Craig

  2. Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, 250 North Mills Street, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    John L. Orrock

  3. Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824-1312, USA

    Lars A. Brudvig

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  1. Michael T. Craig
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  2. John L. Orrock
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  3. Lars A. Brudvig
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Correspondence to Michael T. Craig.

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Craig, M.T., Orrock, J.L. & Brudvig, L.A. Edge-mediated patterns of seed removal in experimentally connected and fragmented landscapes. Landscape Ecol 26, 1373–1381 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-011-9650-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-011-9650-y

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