Variation in ant-mediated seed dispersal along elevation gradients
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Biodiversity, Ecology, Entomology, Plant Science
- Keywords
- mountain, biodiversity, myrmecochory, community ecology
- Copyright
- © 2018 Del Toro et al.
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2018. Variation in ant-mediated seed dispersal along elevation gradients. PeerJ Preprints 6:e26783v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.26783v1
Abstract
Ant-mediated seed dispersal, also known as myrmecochory, is a widespread and important mutualism that structures both plant and insect communities. However the extent to which myrmecochory is driven by abiotic and biotic environmental factors remains unclear. We used a replicated standardized seed removal experiment along elevation gradients in four mountain ranges in the southwestern United States to test predictions that: (1) seed removal rates would be greater at lower elevations, and (2) seed species identity influences seed removal rates, (i.e. seeds from their native elevation range would be removed at higher rates than seeds outside of their range). Both predictions were supported. Seed removal rates were ~25% higher at lower elevation sites than at higher elevation sites. The low elevation Datura and high elevation Iris were removed at higher rates in their respective native ranges. We attribute observed differences in dispersal rates to changes in ant community composition, functional diversity, and abundance, suggesting that temperature variation along the elevation gradient.
Author Comment
This is a submission to PeerJ for review.