Data/hora: 13/06/2024 07:12:42

Provedor de dados: | 88
País: | Brazil
Título: | Harvesting of Protium heptaphyllum (Aubl.) March. seeds (Burseraceae) by the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens L. promotes seed aggregation and seedling mortality
Autores: | Silva,Paulo D.; Leal,Inara R.; Wirth,Rainer; Tabarelli,Marcelo.
Data: | 2007-09-01
Ano: | 2007
Palavras-chave: | Atlantic forest; Atta sexdens; Leaf-cutting ants; Protium heptaphyllum; Seed dispersal.
Resumo: | The role played by leaf-cutting ants as seed dispersers of non-myrmecochorous plants remains poorly understood. Here we document the harvesting of Protium heptaphyllum (Aubl.) March. seeds (Burseraceae) by the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens L. and its consequences for (1) seed deposition pattern; (2) seed germination; and (3) seedling mortality. The study was carried out at Dois Irmãos, a 390 ha reserve of Atlantic forest, northeast Brazil. Ant-seed harvesting on the ground was detected in 18.5% of all fruiting trees and ants harvested 41.1% ± 19.7% of the seed crop (mean ± s). In average, ants piled seeds 3.4 ± 2.2 m away from the trunk of parent trees and seed density in these piles reached 128.8 ± 138.8 seeds 0.25 m² during the peak of seed discarding by ants. During a 13 month period, mean seedling mortality varied from 0.54% up to 10.6% in ant-made seed piles vs. 0.05-4.2% in control samples, what resulted in a total seedling mortality of 97.7% vs. 81%. Ants systematically cut seedling epicotyls, accounting for 55% of seedling mortality in seed piles, whereas only 14 seedlings (4.2%) were cut by ants in the control samples. Our results suggest that seed harvesting by A. sexdens (1) affects approximately 20% of fruiting P. heptaphyllum trees and their seed crops; (2) promotes short-distance seed dispersal and high levels of seed aggregation; and (3) reduces seedling survival beneath parents.
Tipo: | Info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Idioma: | Inglês
Identificador: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-84042007000300019
Editor: | Sociedade Botânica de São Paulo
Relação: | 10.1590/S0100-84042007000300019
Formato: | text/html
Fonte: | Brazilian Journal of Botany  v.30 n.3 2007
Fonte: | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess