Seed dispersal by dispersing juvenile animals: a source of functional connectivity in fragmented landscapes.

ABSTRACT: Juvenile animals generally disperse from their birthplace to their future breeding territories. In fragmented landscapes, habitat-specialist species must disperse through the anthropogenic matrix where remnant habitats are embedded. Here, we test the hypothesis that dispersing juvenile frugivores leave a footprint in the form of seed deposition through the matrix of fragmented landscapes. We focused on the Sardinian warbler ( Sylvia melanocephala), a resident frugivorous passerine. We used data from field sampling of bird-dispersed seeds in the forest and matrix of a fragmented landscape, subsequent disperser identification through DNA-barcoding analysis, and data from a national bird-ringing programme. Seed dispersal by Sardinian warblers was confined to the forest most of the year, but w

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez-Varo JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6684993 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature