Journal
PLANT ECOLOGY
Volume 219, Issue 11, Pages 1307-1314Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s11258-018-0880-9
Keywords
Environmental conditions; Non-native; Plant invasion; Plant-granivore interactions
Categories
Funding
- Agencia Nacional de Promocion Cientifica y Tecnologica (FONCYT) [PICT 2016-2838, 0062]
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Generalist seed predators are an important factor shaping non-native species invasion. Their effect is highly influenced by abiotic conditions, yet how the importance of this biotic filter changes in a gradient of abiotic conditions is still poorly understood. In this study, we assessed seed predation of non-native conifer species along a precipitation gradient in north-western Argentinean Patagonia. We performed a seed removal experiment over a 15-day period during the fall in sites where annual precipitation ranges from 600 to 1600mm and vegetation ranges from steppe to forest. We used the three most common forestry species in the study area, including two species known to invade areas adjacent to plantations and one native species. Seed predation was higher in sites with higher precipitation, but no significant differences in seed predation were found among species. Small mammals were the dominant group predating seeds on this gradient. These findings highlight the importance of abiotic conditions mediating plant-granivore interactions, and the influence that abiotic conditions may have on biotic resistance to invasion.
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