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Human-induced reduction in mammalian movements impacts seed dispersal in the tropics
Ecography ( IF 5.9 ) Pub Date : 2021-03-16 , DOI: 10.1111/ecog.05210
Marlee A. Tucker 1 , Michela Busana 1 , Mark A. J. Huijbregts 1 , Adam T. Ford 2
Affiliation  

Seed dispersal is a key process affecting the structure, composition and spatial dynamics of plant populations. Numerous plant species in the tropics rely upon animals to disperse their seeds. Humans have altered mammalian movements, which will likely affect seed dispersal distances (SDD). Altered SDD may have a range of consequences for plant communities including reduced seedling recruitment and plant biomass, seed trait homogenization, altered gene flow and a reduced capacity to respond to environmental changes. Therefore, modelling the consequences of altered animal behaviour on ecosystem processes is important for predicting how ecosystems will respond to human impacts. While previous research has focused on the link between animal species extirpation and SDD, it remains unclear how changes in mammalian movement will impact SDD. Here we implemented a mechanistic modelling approach to examine how mammalian movement reductions impact SDD in the tropics. We combined allometric theory with a mechanistic seed dispersal model to estimate SDD via the movement of 37 large frugivorous mammals (> 10 kg) in the tropics under different levels of human footprint, a global proxy of direct and indirect human disturbances. Our results suggest that assemblage-level SDD reductions are estimated to be up to 80% across the tropics in response to human disturbance. This is particularly the case in areas with high human impact such as agricultural landscapes and suburban areas. The region with the largest reductions in SDD was the Asia-Pacific with average reductions of 25%, followed by Central–South America (16%) and then Africa (15%). Our study provides insights into how human-induced changes in movement behaviour of large mammals could translate into altered ecosystem functioning.

中文翻译:

人类引起的哺乳动物运动减少影响热带地区的种子传播

种子传播是影响植物种群结构、组成和空间动态的关键过程。热带地区的许多植物物种依靠动物来传播种子。人类改变了哺乳动物的运动,这可能会影响种子传播距离 (SDD)。改变的 SDD 可能对植物群落产生一系列后果,包括幼苗补充和植物生物量减少、种子性状同质化、基因流改变以及对环境变化的反应能力降低。因此,模拟动物行为改变对生态系统过程的影响对于预测生态系统将如何应对人类影响非常重要。虽然之前的研究侧重于动物物种灭绝与 SDD 之间的联系,但尚不清楚哺乳动物运动的变化将如何影响 SDD。在这里,我们实施了一种机械建模方法来检查哺乳动物运动减少如何影响热带地区的 SDD。我们将异速生长理论与机械种子传播模型相结合,通过 37 只大型食果哺乳动物(> 10 公斤)在不同人类足迹水平下的热带运动来估计 SDD,这是直接和间接人类干扰的全球代理。我们的结果表明,响应于人类干扰,整个热带地区的组合水平 SDD 减少估计高达 80%。在农业景观和郊区等人类影响较大的地区尤其如此。SDD 降幅最大的地区是亚太地区,平均降幅为 25%,其次是中南美洲 (16%),然后是非洲 (15%)。
更新日期:2021-03-16
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