Dung beetle activity had no positive effect on nutrient concentration or performance of established rainforest seedlings
Por:
Urrea-Galeano, Lina Adonay, Andresen, Ellen, Coates, Rosamond, Mora, Francisco, del-Val, Ek, Nava Mendoza, Maribel
Publicada:
1 may 2021
Ahead of Print:
1 mar 2021
Categoría:
Ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics
Resumen:
Dung beetle activity causes many changes in the soil when they remove
feces from the surface. In temperate grasslands and in greenhouse
experiments, these changes have been found to positively affect
established plants, but information about these effects under natural
conditions in tropical forests is practically nonexistent. In a tropical
rainforest (Los Tuxtlas, Mexico), we carried out field experiments with
seedlings of six tree species (Brosimum alicastrum, Calophyllum
brasiliense, Cymbopetalum baillonii, Diospyros digyna, Omphalea
oleifera, and Poulsenia armata), to assess whether feces burial by dung
beetles had any positive effect on them. We estimated foliar nitrogen
and phosphorus, seedling survival, growth and resource allocation, under
three treatment levels: (a) feces added and beetles active, (b) feces
added and beetles excluded, and (c) no feces added (and consequently no
beetles active). We analyzed data at two levels: community (all plant
species together) and individual species. Dung beetle activity did not
increase the concentration of foliar nutrients or seedling performance
(survival, growth); in one species, it modified resource allocation. At
the community level and for two species, dung beetle activity decreased
the probability of seedlings growing in height. Our study provides
evidence on how extrapolating the effects of dung beetle activity from
other study systems into tropical forests can be problematic. More
studies will be needed before we can have a clearer idea of the effects
that feces burial by dung beetles have on established plants in tropical
forests.
in Spanish is available with online material.
Filiaciones:
Urrea-Galeano, Lina Adonay:
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Invest Ecosistemas & Sustentabilidad, Antigua Carretera Patzcuaro 8701, Morelia 58190, Michoacan, Mexico
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Posgrad Ciencias Biol, Mexico City, DF, Mexico
Andresen, Ellen:
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Invest Ecosistemas & Sustentabilidad, Antigua Carretera Patzcuaro 8701, Morelia 58190, Michoacan, Mexico
Coates, Rosamond:
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Biol, Estn Biol Trop Tuxtlas, San Andres Tuxtla, Mexico
Mora, Francisco:
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Invest Ecosistemas & Sustentabilidad, Antigua Carretera Patzcuaro 8701, Morelia 58190, Michoacan, Mexico
del-Val, Ek:
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Invest Ecosistemas & Sustentabilidad, Antigua Carretera Patzcuaro 8701, Morelia 58190, Michoacan, Mexico
Nava Mendoza, Maribel:
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Invest Ecosistemas & Sustentabilidad, Antigua Carretera Patzcuaro 8701, Morelia 58190, Michoacan, Mexico
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