Dispersal and establishment of vascular epiphytes in human-modified landscapes.

ABSTRACT: The ongoing destruction of old-growth forests puts tropical forest species under great pressure because of the resulting habitat loss. A pre-requisite for the maintenance of a viable metacommunity in a fragmented landscape is the connectivity between habitable patches. We experimentally studied four vital steps of epiphyte dispersal in different habitat types in western Panama. (i) Seed falling velocity (V_term) is known to correlate with long-distance dispersal via convective updraft. All measured V_term of bromeliad and orchid seeds fell into a range of velocities with a high chance of long-distance dispersal. (ii) We quantified attachment success of bromeliad seeds as a function of bark rugosity with >30 common tree species in the region. Even fine bark

SUBMITTER: Einzmann HJR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5714248 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature