Elucidating context dependency in seed dispersal interactions: Elucidating context dependency in seed dispersal interactions

Abstract

Whether a seed lands on a site that is appropriate for germination and establishment, depends greatly on the general characteristics of the surrounding environment, which often vary among microsites and with weather stochasticity. Quantity and quality of dispersal will also determine the fate of seeds. Quantity of dispersal is the number of seeds removed by a specific seed disperser agent, which may vary with fruit availability. Quality includes the treatment of seeds in frugivores´ guts and the behavior of the seed disperser, which ultimately determines where the seed is deposited. Seed treatment is probably the least variable of all the factors considered above, while disperser behavior and concomitant seed deposition may greatly vary according, among other things, to overall characteristics of the environment. Variation in one or more of these factors, i.e., the context where the interaction takes place, will determine its outcome. The resulting complexity in quantifying the effect of a seed disperser on plant reproduction has led to the commonly cited statement that "the implied marriage of animal foraging with plant demography is rarely consummated".