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Individual crop size increases predispersal predation by beetles in a tropical palm

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2020

Morgana Maria Arcanjo Bruno ,
Klécia Gili Massi Open the ORCID record for Klécia Gili Massi [Opens in a new window] ,
Alexander V. Christianini  and
John du Vall Hay
Morgana Maria Arcanjo Bruno
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, Brasilia, Distrito Federal, DF70910-970, Brazil
Klécia Gili Massi*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, Brasilia, Distrito Federal, DF70910-970, Brazil
Alexander V. Christianini
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ciências Ambientais, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Campus Sorocaba, Sorocaba, SP18052-780, Brazil
John du Vall Hay
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, Brasilia, Distrito Federal, DF70910-970, Brazil
*
Author for Correspondence: Klécia Gili Massi, E-mail: kgmassi@gmail.com
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Abstract

Predispersal seed predation is one of the main causes of seed mortality in plant populations, contributing to decreased plant recruitment. Seed loss has previously been found to be related to crop size. Thus, we examined the influence of individual crop size on predispersal seed predation by beetles in the palm Syagrus flexuosa in the Brazilian savanna. The study was carried out in three tropical woodland savanna sites, where we sampled the total seed crop of 46 fruiting palms and checked the presence of beetle larvae inside all seeds per plant. We observed predispersal seed predation of S. flexuosa from all sites and a high variation in the number of seeds preyed on per individual palm. Crop size had a positive influence on the number of seeds lost to predispersal seed predators. Variations in levels of predispersal seed predation may also be accounted for by the reproductive phenology of S. flexuosa. If fruits are not available at the same time, less resource is available for predators and therefore a high proportion of seeds may be preyed on. Thus, our study demonstrates that an individual plant trait, crop size, is an important predictor of beetle seed damage per palm and a driver of the number of seeds lost to predispersal seed predators.

Keywords

crop sizesavannaseedSyagrus flexuosa
Type
Short Communication
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , March 2021 , pp. 43 - 46
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

†

Current address: Universidade Católica de Brasília, Programa de Educação Ambiental – PEA, Águas Claras, DF 71966-700, Brazil.

‡

Current address: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia, São José dos Campos, SP 12247-004, Brazil.

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