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| DOI | 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0166824 | ||||
| Año | 2016 | ||||
| Tipo | artículo de investigación |
Citas Totales
Autores Afiliación Chile
Instituciones Chile
% Participación
Internacional
Autores
Afiliación Extranjera
Instituciones
Extranjeras
Scatter-hoarding rodents can act as both predators and dispersers for many large-seeded plants because they cache seeds for future use, but occasionally forget them in sites with high survival and establishment probabilities. The most important fruit or seed trait influencing rodent foraging behavior is seed size; rodents prefer large seeds because they have higher nutritional content, but this preference can be counterbalanced by the higher costs of handling larger seeds. We designed a cafeteria experiment to assess whether fruit and seed size of Myrcianthes coquimbensis, an endangered desert shrub, influence the decision-making process during foraging by three species of scatter-hoarding rodents differing in body size: Abrothrix olivaceus, Phyllotis darwini and Octodon degus. We found that the size of fruits and seeds influenced foraging behavior in the three rodent species; the probability of a fruit being harvested and hoarded was higher for larger fruits than for smaller ones. Patterns of fruit size preference were not affected by rodent size; all species were able to hoard fruits within the entire range of sizes offered. Finally, fruit and seed size had no effect on the probability of seed predation, rodents typically ate only the fleshy pulp of the fruits offered and discarded whole, intact seeds. In conclusion, our results reveal that larger M. coquimbensis fruits have higher probabilities of being harvested, and ultimately of its seeds being hoarded and dispersed by scatter-hoarding rodents. As this plant has no other dispersers, rodents play an important role in its recruitment dynamics.
| Ord. | Autor | Género | Institución - País |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luna, Claudia A. | Mujer |
Universidad de la Serena - Chile
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| 2 | LOAYZA-FREIRA, ANDREA PATRICIA | Mujer |
Universidad de la Serena - Chile
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| 3 | SQUEO-PORCILE, FRANCISCO ANTONIO | Hombre |
Universidad de la Serena - Chile
Instituto de Ecologia y Biodiversidad - Chile Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Aridas - Chile |
| Fuente |
|---|
| CONICYT |
| Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico |
| Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica |
| Universidad de La Serena |
| Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad |
| IEB |
| DIULS |
| FONDECYT Initiation Research Grant |
| Department of Research of Universidad de La Serena (DIULS) |
| Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB; Chilean Millennium Initiative) |
| Agradecimiento |
|---|
| We want to thank Jose M. Fedriani and Mauro Galetti for their helpful comments on the manuscript. Rodrigo S. Rios and Maria Calvino-Cancela helped improve earlier versions of this paper. Special thanks to all those who assisted with data collection and experimental setup, particularly Danny E. Carvajal and Patricio Garcia-Guzman. This research was supported by grants awarded to CAL from the Instituto de Ecologia y Biodiversidad (IEB; Chilean Millennium Initiative [P05-002]) and the Departamento de Investigacion of Universidad de La Serena (DIULS [PT14122]). APL was supported by a FONDECYT Initiation Research Grant (11140400) and CONICYT (PFB-23). |
| We want to thank José M. Fedriani and Mauro Galetti for their helpful comments on the manuscript. Rodrigo S. Rios and Maria Calviño-Cancela helped improve earlier versions of this paper. Special thanks to all those who assisted with data collection and experimental setup, particularly Danny E. Carvajal and Patricio García-Guzmán. This research was supported by grants awarded to CAL from the Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB; Chilean Millennium Initiative [P05-002]) and the Departamento de Investigación of Universidad de La Serena (DIULS [PT14122]). APL was supported by a FONDECYT Initiation Research Grant (11140400) and CONICYT (PFB-23). |