Effects of defaunation and introduction of exotic species on plant-seed dispersal ...
| Grant number: | 10/16075-1 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate |
| Effective date (Start): | February 01, 2011 |
| Effective date (End): | December 31, 2013 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Ecology |
| Principal Investigator: | Mauro Galetti Rodrigues |
| Grantee: | Laurence Marianne Vincianne Culot |
| Home Institution: | Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil |
| Associated research grant: | 07/03392-6 - Effects of the defaunation gradient on plant herbivory, seed predation and dispersal: the Atlantic Rainforest perspective, AP.TEM |
Abstract Combining with a high deforestation rate, poaching in the Atlantic forest threatens plant and animal populations. Most hunted mammals are medium and large body-sized herbivores, seed dispersers or seed predators. The local extinction of this fauna creates so-called "empty forests", with vegetation apparently intact but altered in its plant-animal interactions. Therefore, cascading effects on the demographic and genetic structure of plant populations are expected, especially for large-seeded species needing large seed dispersers. This post-doctoral project aims at determining the cascading effects of defaunation on plant-animal interactions, focusing on local extinctions of large primates. We are going to determine the effect of defaunation on the demographic and genetic structure of a large-seeded species, Cryptocarya mandioccana (Lauraceae), along a defaunation gradient in the Atlantic Forest. Specifically, we pretend to determine the qualitative and quantitative contribution of each seed disperser to the reproductive success of C. mandioccana through the combination of behavioural data, field experiments and gene flow. | |