The key role of the largest extant Neotropical frugivore (Tapirus terrestris) in promoting admixture of plant genotypes across the landscape

The historical and contemporary loss of large-bodied frugivores has disrupted many plant-disperser mutualisms, with potentially profound consequences for plants. Although several aspects of seed dispersal by megafrugivores have already been examined, the role of these species in promoting seed-media...

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Autores principales: Giombini, Mariano Ignacio, Bravo, Susana Patricia, Tosto, Daniela S.
Publicado: 2016
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Acceso en línea:https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00063606_v48_n4_p499_Giombini
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00063606_v48_n4_p499_Giombini
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spelling paper:paper_00063606_v48_n4_p499_Giombini2023-06-08T14:31:23Z The key role of the largest extant Neotropical frugivore (Tapirus terrestris) in promoting admixture of plant genotypes across the landscape Giombini, Mariano Ignacio Bravo, Susana Patricia Tosto, Daniela S. defaunation Iguazú National Park kinship analysis megafauna plant-disperser mutualisms seed dispersal seed-mediated gene flow Syagrus romanzoffiana community composition evergreen tree frugivory gene flow genetic analysis genetic structure genotype habitat loss kinship landscape ecology mutualism recruitment (population dynamics) seed dispersal ungulate Argentina Iguazu National Park Misiones [Argentina] Syagrus romanzoffiana Tapiridae Tapirus terrestris The historical and contemporary loss of large-bodied frugivores has disrupted many plant-disperser mutualisms, with potentially profound consequences for plants. Although several aspects of seed dispersal by megafrugivores have already been examined, the role of these species in promoting seed-mediated gene flow has remained unexplored. We evaluated the role of the Amazonian tapir (Tapirus terrestris), the largest Neotropical frugivore, in shaping plant genetic structure through seed-mediated gene flow. We used microsatellites to analyze the genetic patterns of Syagrus romanzoffiana seedlings recruited in tapir latrines and around conspecific adult palms, the two sites where seeds and seedlings are most frequently found in this species. While the genetic diversity of seedlings was rather similar in both sites, the kinship structure was substantially weaker in latrines. Most seedlings recruited around adult palms were half- or full-sibs originating from those adults. In contrast, seedlings recruited in latrines came from several (>5, on average) contributing mothers other than the nearest adult (95%) and were mostly non-sibs (72%). Kinship patterns indicated that tapir-mediated dispersal promotes the admixture of genotypes across space. Also, our results suggested that genetic diversity and the number of contributing mothers in latrines increase with the number of fruiting adults visited by tapirs before defecating and with the accumulation of feces over time. We provide evidence of the relevance of tapirs in mobilizing maternal progenies (and genotypes) across the landscape and recruiting clusters of unrelated seedlings. This study suggests a key role for plant–megafrugivore interactions in seed-mediated gene flow and emphasizes the importance of preserving such mutualisms. © 2016 The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation Fil:Giombini, M.I. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Bravo, S.P. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Tosto, D.S. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. 2016 https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00063606_v48_n4_p499_Giombini http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00063606_v48_n4_p499_Giombini
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic defaunation
Iguazú National Park
kinship analysis
megafauna
plant-disperser mutualisms
seed dispersal
seed-mediated gene flow
Syagrus romanzoffiana
community composition
evergreen tree
frugivory
gene flow
genetic analysis
genetic structure
genotype
habitat loss
kinship
landscape ecology
mutualism
recruitment (population dynamics)
seed dispersal
ungulate
Argentina
Iguazu National Park
Misiones [Argentina]
Syagrus romanzoffiana
Tapiridae
Tapirus terrestris
spellingShingle defaunation
Iguazú National Park
kinship analysis
megafauna
plant-disperser mutualisms
seed dispersal
seed-mediated gene flow
Syagrus romanzoffiana
community composition
evergreen tree
frugivory
gene flow
genetic analysis
genetic structure
genotype
habitat loss
kinship
landscape ecology
mutualism
recruitment (population dynamics)
seed dispersal
ungulate
Argentina
Iguazu National Park
Misiones [Argentina]
Syagrus romanzoffiana
Tapiridae
Tapirus terrestris
Giombini, Mariano Ignacio
Bravo, Susana Patricia
Tosto, Daniela S.
The key role of the largest extant Neotropical frugivore (Tapirus terrestris) in promoting admixture of plant genotypes across the landscape
topic_facet defaunation
Iguazú National Park
kinship analysis
megafauna
plant-disperser mutualisms
seed dispersal
seed-mediated gene flow
Syagrus romanzoffiana
community composition
evergreen tree
frugivory
gene flow
genetic analysis
genetic structure
genotype
habitat loss
kinship
landscape ecology
mutualism
recruitment (population dynamics)
seed dispersal
ungulate
Argentina
Iguazu National Park
Misiones [Argentina]
Syagrus romanzoffiana
Tapiridae
Tapirus terrestris
description The historical and contemporary loss of large-bodied frugivores has disrupted many plant-disperser mutualisms, with potentially profound consequences for plants. Although several aspects of seed dispersal by megafrugivores have already been examined, the role of these species in promoting seed-mediated gene flow has remained unexplored. We evaluated the role of the Amazonian tapir (Tapirus terrestris), the largest Neotropical frugivore, in shaping plant genetic structure through seed-mediated gene flow. We used microsatellites to analyze the genetic patterns of Syagrus romanzoffiana seedlings recruited in tapir latrines and around conspecific adult palms, the two sites where seeds and seedlings are most frequently found in this species. While the genetic diversity of seedlings was rather similar in both sites, the kinship structure was substantially weaker in latrines. Most seedlings recruited around adult palms were half- or full-sibs originating from those adults. In contrast, seedlings recruited in latrines came from several (>5, on average) contributing mothers other than the nearest adult (95%) and were mostly non-sibs (72%). Kinship patterns indicated that tapir-mediated dispersal promotes the admixture of genotypes across space. Also, our results suggested that genetic diversity and the number of contributing mothers in latrines increase with the number of fruiting adults visited by tapirs before defecating and with the accumulation of feces over time. We provide evidence of the relevance of tapirs in mobilizing maternal progenies (and genotypes) across the landscape and recruiting clusters of unrelated seedlings. This study suggests a key role for plant–megafrugivore interactions in seed-mediated gene flow and emphasizes the importance of preserving such mutualisms. © 2016 The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation
author Giombini, Mariano Ignacio
Bravo, Susana Patricia
Tosto, Daniela S.
author_facet Giombini, Mariano Ignacio
Bravo, Susana Patricia
Tosto, Daniela S.
author_sort Giombini, Mariano Ignacio
title The key role of the largest extant Neotropical frugivore (Tapirus terrestris) in promoting admixture of plant genotypes across the landscape
title_short The key role of the largest extant Neotropical frugivore (Tapirus terrestris) in promoting admixture of plant genotypes across the landscape
title_full The key role of the largest extant Neotropical frugivore (Tapirus terrestris) in promoting admixture of plant genotypes across the landscape
title_fullStr The key role of the largest extant Neotropical frugivore (Tapirus terrestris) in promoting admixture of plant genotypes across the landscape
title_full_unstemmed The key role of the largest extant Neotropical frugivore (Tapirus terrestris) in promoting admixture of plant genotypes across the landscape
title_sort key role of the largest extant neotropical frugivore (tapirus terrestris) in promoting admixture of plant genotypes across the landscape
publishDate 2016
url https://bibliotecadigital.exactas.uba.ar/collection/paper/document/paper_00063606_v48_n4_p499_Giombini
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00063606_v48_n4_p499_Giombini
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