Plant species dispersed by Galapagos tortoises surf the wave of habitat suitability under anthropogenic climate change.

ABSTRACT: Native biodiversity on the Galapagos Archipelago is severely threatened by invasive alien species. On Santa Cruz Island, the abundance of introduced plant species is low in the arid lowlands of the Galapagos National Park, but increases with elevation into unprotected humid highlands. Two common alien plant species, guava (Psidium guajava) and passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) occur at higher elevations yet their seeds are dispersed into the lowlands by migrating Galapagos tortoises (Chelonoidis spp.). Tortoises transport large quantities of seeds over long distances into environments in which they have little or no chance of germination and survival under current climate conditions. However, climate change is projected to modify environmental conditions on Galapagos with unknown consequen

SUBMITTER: Ellis-Soto D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5519159 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature