Disperser Limitation and Recruitment of an Endemic African Tree in a Fragmented Landscape

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dc.contributor.authorCordeiro, Norbert J.
dc.contributor.authorNdangalasi, Henry J.
dc.contributor.authorMcEntee, Jay P.
dc.contributor.authorHowe, Henry
dc.date.accessioned2016-07-08T11:58:42Z
dc.date.available2016-07-08T11:58:42Z
dc.date.issued2009-04
dc.description.abstractForest fragmentation may have positive or negative effects on tropical tree populations. Our earlier study of an endemic African tree, Leptonychia usambarensis (Sterculiaceae), in the East Usambara Mountains of Tanzania, found poorer recruitment of seedlings and juveniles in small fragments compared to continuous forest, and concomitant reduction of seed-dispersal agents and seed dispersal. However, the possibility that other biotic or abiotic consequences of the fragmentation process contribute to diminished recruitment in fragments was left open. Here we test whether excessive seed predation, diminished fecundity, low seed quality, or adverse abiotic effects acted independently or in concert with reduced seed dispersal to limit seedling and juvenile recruitment in fragments. Extended observations of disperser activity, a seed placement experiment, seed predator censuses, and reciprocal seedling transplants from forest and fragment sources failed to support the alternative hypotheses for poorer seedling and juvenile recruitment in fragments, leaving reduced seed dispersal as the most plausible mechanism. Poorer recruitment of this species in forest fragments, where high edge-to-area ratios admit more light than in continuous forest, is particularly striking because the tree is an early successional species that might be expected to thrive in disturbed microhabitats.en_US
dc.identifier.citationCordeiro, N.J., Ndangalasi, H.J., McEntee, J.P. and Howe, H.F., 2009. Disperser limitation and recruitment of an endemic African tree in a fragmented landscape. Ecology, 90(4), pp.1030-1041.en_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1890/07-1208.1 · Source: PubMed
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11810/2869
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherWileyen_US
dc.subjectAfricaen_US
dc.subjectDovesen_US
dc.subjectEastern Arc Mountainsen_US
dc.subjectEdge effectsen_US
dc.subjectFrugivoryen_US
dc.subjectHabitat fragmentationen_US
dc.subjectInbreedingen_US
dc.subjectMutualismen_US
dc.subjectRodentsen_US
dc.subjectSeed dispersalen_US
dc.subjectSeed predationen_US
dc.subjectTropical foresen_US
dc.titleDisperser Limitation and Recruitment of an Endemic African Tree in a Fragmented Landscapeen_US
dc.typeJournal Article, Peer Revieweden_US
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