Erik Rodríguez-García

Universidad de Valladolid

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José Miguel Olano

Universidad de Valladolid

Eduardo T. Mezquida

Universidad Nacional de La Pampa

Olivier Leroux

Ghent University

Vicente Rozas

Universidad de Valladolid

Miguel García‐Hidalgo

Universidad de Valladolid

Ana I. García‐Cervigón

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

Cooperative Institutions

Universidad de Valladolid

Junta de Castilla y León

University of the Basque Country

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Austral University of Chile

Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas

Unidades Centrales Científico-Técnicas

Misión Biológica de Galicia

Universidad de Oviedo

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You'd better walk alone: Changes in forest composition affect pollination efficiency and pre‐dispersal cone damage in Iberian Juniperus thurifera forests

Plant Biology (2017)

Erik Rodríguez-García Eduardo T. Mezquida José Miguel Olano

Changes in land-use patterns are a major driver of global environmental change. Cessation of traditional land-use practices has led to forest expansion and shifts in forest composition. Consequently, former monospecific forests maintained by traditional management are progressing towards mixed forests. However, knowledge is scarce on how the presence of other tree species will affect reproduction of formerly dominant species. We explored this question in the wind-pollinated tree Juniperus thurifera. We hypothesised that the presence of heterospecific trees would have a negative effect on cone production and on the proportion of cones attacked by specialised predators. We assessed the relative importance of forest composition on cone production, seed development and pre-dispersal cone damage on nine paired pure and mixed J. thurifera forests in three regions across the Iberian Peninsula. The effects of forest composition on crop size, cone and seed characteristics, as well as damage by pre-dispersal arthropods were tested using mixed models. Cone production was lower and seed abortion higher in mixed forests, suggesting higher pollination failure. In contrast, cone damage by arthropods was higher in pure forests, supporting the hypothesis that presence of non-host plants reduces damage rates. However, the response of each arthropod to forest composition was species-specific and the relative rates of cone damage varied depending on individual tree crops. Larger crop sizes in pure forests compensated for the higher cone damage rates, leading to a higher net production of sound seeds compared to mixed forests. This study indicates that ongoing changes in forest composition after land abandonment may impact tree reproduction.

10.1111/plb.12613

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Citations (5)

Living on the edge: Legacy of water availability on Tetraclinis articulata secondary growth under semiarid conditions in Morocco

Dendrochronologia (2021)

Vicente Rozas Ana I. García‐Cervigón Miguel García‐Hidalgo Erik Rodríguez-García José Miguel Olano

Dendroclimatology

10.1016/j.dendro.2021.125853

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Efficiency of pollination and satiation of predators determine reproductive output in Iberian Juniperus thurifera woodlands

Plant Biology (2015)

Eduardo T. Mezquida Erik Rodríguez-García José Miguel Olano

Fruit production in animal-dispersed plants has a strong influence on fitness because large crops increase the number of seeds dispersed by frugivores. Large crops are costly, and environmental control of plant resources is likely play a role in shaping temporal and spatial variations in seed production, particularly in fluctuating environments such as the Mediterranean. The number of fruits that start to develop and the proportion of viable seeds produced are also linked to the number of flowers formed and the efficiency of pollination in wind-pollinated plants. Finally, large fruit displays also attract seed predators, having a negative effect on seed output. We assessed the relative impact of environmental conditions on fruit production, and their combined effect on seed production, abortion and seed loss through three predispersal predators in Juniperus thurifera L., sampling 14 populations across the Iberian Peninsula. Wetter than average conditions during flowering and early fruit development led to larger crop sizes; this effect was amplified at tree level, with the most productive trees during more favourable years yielding fruits with more viable seeds and less empty and aborted seeds. In addition, large crops satiated the less mobile seed predator. The other two predispersal predators responded to plant traits, the presence of other seed predators and environmental conditions, but did not show a satiation response to the current-year crop. Our large-scale study on a dioecious, wind-pollinated Mediterranean juniper indicates that pollination efficiency and satiation of seed predators, mediated by environmental conditions, are important determinants of reproductive output in this juniper species.

Seed predation

10.1111/plb.12338

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Deciphering the role of reproductive investment, pollination success and predispersal seed predation on reproductive output in Juniperus thurifera

Figshare (2019)

Erik Rodríguez-García José Miguel Olano Olivier Leroux Eduardo T. Mezquida

Background: Plant reproductive output is determined by a complex set of factors including resource availability, pollination success and pre-dispersal predation. Disentangling the relative contribution of each factor is critical to underpin the factors determining plant fitness. Aims: To unravel the relative contributions of initial reproductive effort, pollination success and pre-dispersal seed predation to plant reproductive success in the fleshy-fruited, wind-pollinated Juniperus thurifera. Methods: We conducted an experiment including pollen addition and pesticide application on 40 female juniper trees for 20 months. Flower production was used as a proxy for resource levels. Results: Main fruit loss occurs in early stages of fruit development. Initial flower number affected fruit and seed set by (a) increasing the rate of fruit formation and the number of viable seeds within fruits and (b) modifying the incidence of low-mobile predators through a satiation effect. Pollination did not limit fruit set, although hand pollinated fruits had more viable seeds. Pre-dispersal seed predation by different arthropods was critical in defining final fruit set. Conclusions: Fruit set in J. thurifera was determined by the interaction of initial reproductive effort and pre-dispersal seed predation. Pollination was not a limiting factor in this relatively dense juniper forests during a year of high flower production.

Seed predation

10.6084/m9.figshare.8850101

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Deciphering the role of reproductive investment, pollination success and predispersal seed predation on reproductive output inJuniperus thurifera

Plant Ecology & Diversity (2018)

Erik Rodríguez-García José Miguel Olano Olivier Leroux Eduardo T. Mezquida

Background: Plant reproductive output is determined by a complex set of factors including resource availability, pollination success and pre-dispersal predation. Disentangling the relative contribution of each factor is critical to underpin the factors determining plant fitness.Aims: To unravel the relative contributions of initial reproductive effort, pollination success and pre-dispersal seed predation to plant reproductive success in the fleshy-fruited, wind-pollinated Juniperus thurifera.Methods: We conducted an experiment including pollen addition and pesticide application on 40 female juniper trees for 20 months. Flower production was used as a proxy for resource levels.Results: Main fruit loss occurs in early stages of fruit development. Initial flower number affected fruit and seed set by (a) increasing the rate of fruit formation and the number of viable seeds within fruits and (b) modifying the incidence of low-mobile predators through a satiation effect. Pollination did not limit fruit set, although hand pollinated fruits had more viable seeds. Pre-dispersal seed predation by different arthropods was critical in defining final fruit set.Conclusions: Fruit set in J. thurifera was determined by the interaction of initial reproductive effort and pre-dispersal seed predation. Pollination was not a limiting factor in this relatively dense juniper forests during a year of high flower production.

Seed predation

Seed dispersal syndrome

Hand-pollination

10.1080/17550874.2018.1549119

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Citations (9)