Articles | Volume 18, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/we-18-67-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/we-18-67-2018
Standard article
 | 
26 Apr 2018
Standard article |  | 26 Apr 2018

Are post-dispersed seeds of Eucalyptus globulus predated in the introduced range? Evidence from an experiment in Portugal

Ernesto Deus, Joaquim S. Silva, Hélia Marchante, Elizabete Marchante, and Catarina Félix

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Cited articles

Abramsky, Z.: Experiments on seed predation by rodents and ants in the Israeli desert, Oecologia, 57, 328–332, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00377176, 1983. 
Águas, A., Ferreira, A., Maia, P., Fernandes, P. M., Roxo, L., Keizer, J., Silva, J. S., Rego, F. C., and Moreira, F.: Natural establishment of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. in burnt stands in Portugal, Forest Ecol. Manag., 323, 47–56, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.03.012, 2014. 
Águas, A., Larcombe, M. J., Matias, H., Deus, E., Potts, B. M., Rego, F. C., and Silva, J. S.: Understanding the naturalization of Eucalyptus globulus in Portugal: a comparison with Australian plantations, Eur. J. For. Res., 136, 433–446, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-017-1043-6, 2017. 
Alba-Lynn, C. and Henk, S.: Potential for ants and vertebrate predators to shape seed-dispersal dynamics of the invasive thistles Cirsium arvense and Carduus nutans in their introduced range (North America), Plant Ecol., 210, 291–301, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-010-9757-2, 2010. 
Andersen, A. N.: Seed removal by ants in the mallee of northwestern Victoria, in: Ant-plant interactions in Australia, edited by: Buckley, R. C., Geobotany, Dr. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague, Netherlands, 31–43, 1982. 
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Short summary
This study, conducted in central Portugal, shows that Eucalyptus globulus seeds are highly attractive to local fauna, including ants and rodents. Surprisingly, E. globulus seeds were as attractive as the exotic Acacia dealbata seeds and more attractive than the native Cistus salviifolius seeds. However, locations with negligible seed predation were abundant across the study area, which may help to explain the heterogeneous recruitment patterns of E. globulus seedlings found in previous studies.