Horizontal seed dispersal by dung beetles reduced seed and seedling clumping, but did not increase short-term seedling establishment.

ABSTRACT: Dung beetles are secondary seed dispersers, incidentally moving many of the seeds defecated by mammals vertically (seed burial) and/or horizontally as they process and relocate dung. Although several studies have quantified this ecological function of dung beetles, very few have followed seed fate until seedling establishment, and most of these have focused on the effects of seed burial. We know very little about the effects of horizontal seed movement by dung beetles, though it is generally assumed that it will affect plant recruitment positively through diminishing seed clumping. The objective of our study was to assess the effects of dung beetle activity on the spatial distribution of seeds and seedlings, and on the probability of seedling establishment. In a tropical rainforest in Mexi

SUBMITTER: Urrea-Galeano LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6812793 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature