Dryad
Published May 31, 2013 | Version v1
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Data from: Functional extinction of birds drives rapid evolutionary changes in seed size.

Creators

  • 1. Sao Paulo State University
  • 2. Instituto de Ecología
  • 3. Federal University of Western Pará
  • 4. Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro
  • 5. Universidade Federal de Goiás
  • 6. University of Sao Paulo
  • 7. Spanish National Research Council

Description

Local extinctions have cascading effects on ecosystem functions, yet little is known about the potential for the rapid evolutionary change of species in human-modified scenarios. We show that the functional extinction of large-gape seed dispersers in the Brazilian Atlantic forest is associated with the consistent reduction of seed size of a keystone palm species. Among 22 palm populations, areas deprived of large avian frugivores for several decades present smaller seeds than non-defaunated forests, with negative consequences for palm regeneration. Coalescence and phenotypic selection models indicate that seed size reduction most likely occurred within the last 100 years, associated with human-driven fragmentation. The fast-paced defaunation of large vertebrates is most likely causing unprecedented changes in the evolutionary trajectories and community composition of tropical forests.

Notes

Study localities list. Table S1
Location, defaunation status and mean (±SD) diameter (mm) of Euterpe edulis (Arecaceae) seeds sampled in the Atlantic forest in Brazil. N, sample size. Marked with * are sites where focal observations were conducted.
localities_Table S1.xls
SM_Table_S2
Occurrence of all known frugivore species that feed on Euterpe edulis fruits in the 22 palm populations sampled. [Spreadsheet document]
SM_Table_S4
Summary of visitation data and fruit feeding behavior for frugivorous birds that feed on Euterpe edulis fruits in defaunated and non-defaunated Atlantic forests in Brazil. The data include information for each species from focal observations in different areas of the defaunated and non-defaunated sites, totaling 2326 h of observation. Small, small-gape (≤ 12 mm) frugivores; Large, large-gape (> 12 mm) frugivores.

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Additional details

Related works

Is cited by
10.1126/science.1233774 (DOI)