Fungi and insects compensate for lost vertebrate seed predation in an experimentally defaunated tropical forest

Peter Jeffrey Williams; Robert C. Ong; Jedediah F. Brodie; Matthew Scott Luskin

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-21978-8

Fungi and insects compensate for lost vertebrate seed predation in an experimentally defaunated tropical forest

Peter Jeffrey Williams
, Robert C. Ong
, Jedediah F. Brodie
, Matthew Scott Luskin

Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences

University of Montana
Forest Research Centre - Sandakan
University of Queensland

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

Overhunting reduces important plant-animal interactions such as vertebrate seed dispersal and seed predation, thereby altering plant regeneration and even above-ground biomass. It remains unclear, however, if non-hunted species can compensate for lost vertebrates in defaunated ecosystems. We use a nested exclusion experiment to isolate the effects of different seed enemies in a Bornean rainforest. In four of five tree species, vertebrates kill many seeds (13–66%). Nonetheless, when large mammals are excluded, seed mortality from insects and fungi fully compensates for the lost vertebrate predation, such that defaunation has no effect on seedling establishment. The switch from seed predation by generalist vertebrates to specialist insects and fungi in defaunated systems may alter Janzen–Connell effects and density-dependence in plants. Previous work using simulation models to explore how lost seed dispersal will affect tree species composition and carbon storage may require reevaluation in the context of functional redundancy within complex species interactions networks.

Original language	English
Article number	1650
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	12
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21978-8
State	Published - Dec 1 2021

Funding

We thank Yayasan Sabah, the Sabah Forest Department, the Sabah Biodiversity Council, and the Danum Valley Management Committee for permission to conduct this study. We are grateful for assistance at the Danum Valley Field Center from M. O’Brien, J. Laurens, A. Karolus, F. Karolus, M. Markus, J. Suffian, N. Thomas, and G. Reynolds. Advice on the study design, analysis, and interpretation was provided by W. Lowe, J. Maron, J. Millspaugh, and K. McConkey. This study was part of the Southeast Asian Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP). We thank J. Y. Lim, V. Deblauwe, and members of the Ecological Cascades Lab for critiques of previous drafts. The research was funded by the University of Montana, the Smithsonian Institution’s For-estGEO program, and Nanyang Technological University.

Funders
Smithsonian Institution
Nanyang Technological University

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10.1038/s41467-021-21978-8

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abstract = "Overhunting reduces important plant-animal interactions such as vertebrate seed dispersal and seed predation, thereby altering plant regeneration and even above-ground biomass. It remains unclear, however, if non-hunted species can compensate for lost vertebrates in defaunated ecosystems. We use a nested exclusion experiment to isolate the effects of different seed enemies in a Bornean rainforest. In four of five tree species, vertebrates kill many seeds (13–66\%). Nonetheless, when large mammals are excluded, seed mortality from insects and fungi fully compensates for the lost vertebrate predation, such that defaunation has no effect on seedling establishment. The switch from seed predation by generalist vertebrates to specialist insects and fungi in defaunated systems may alter Janzen–Connell effects and density-dependence in plants. Previous work using simulation models to explore how lost seed dispersal will affect tree species composition and carbon storage may require reevaluation in the context of functional redundancy within complex species interactions networks.",

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Fungi and insects compensate for lost vertebrate seed predation in an experimentally defaunated tropical forest

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