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Identifying keystone plant resources in an Amazonian forest using a long-term fruit-fall record

Publication ,  Journal Article
Diaz-Martin, Z; Swamy, V; Terborgh, J; Alvarez-Loayza, P; Cornejo, F
Published in: Journal of Tropical Ecology
January 1, 2014

The keystone plant resources (KPR) concept describes certain plant species in tropical forests as vital to community stability and diversity because they provide food resources to vertebrate consumers during the season of scarcity. Here, we use an 8-y, continuous record of fruit fall from a 1.44-ha mature forest stand to identify potential KPRs in a lowland western Amazonian rain forest. KPRs were identified based on four criteria: temporal non-redundancy; year-to-year reliability; abundance of reproductive-size individuals and inferred fruit crop size; and the variety of vertebrate consumers utilizing their fruit. Overall, seven species were considered excellent KPRs: two of these belong to the genus Ficus, confirming that this taxon is a KPR as previously suggested. Celtis iguanaea (Cannabaceae) - a canopy liana - has also been previously classified as a KPR; in addition, Pseudomalmea diclina (Annonaceae), Cissus ulmifolia (Vitaceae), Allophylus glabratus (Sapindaceae) and Trichilia elegans (Meliaceae) are newly identified KPRs. Our results confirm that a very small fraction (<5%) of the plant community consistently provides fruit for a broad set of consumers during the period of resource scarcity, which has significant implications for the conservation and management of Amazonian forests. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014.

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Published In

Journal of Tropical Ecology

DOI

EISSN

1469-7831

ISSN

0266-4674

Publication Date

January 1, 2014

Volume

30

Issue

4

Start / End Page

291 / 301

Related Subject Headings

  • Ecology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 1601 Anthropology
  • 0602 Ecology
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Diaz-Martin, Z., Swamy, V., Terborgh, J., Alvarez-Loayza, P., & Cornejo, F. (2014). Identifying keystone plant resources in an Amazonian forest using a long-term fruit-fall record. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 30(4), 291–301. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467414000248
Diaz-Martin, Z., V. Swamy, J. Terborgh, P. Alvarez-Loayza, and F. Cornejo. “Identifying keystone plant resources in an Amazonian forest using a long-term fruit-fall record.” Journal of Tropical Ecology 30, no. 4 (January 1, 2014): 291–301. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467414000248.
Diaz-Martin Z, Swamy V, Terborgh J, Alvarez-Loayza P, Cornejo F. Identifying keystone plant resources in an Amazonian forest using a long-term fruit-fall record. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 2014 Jan 1;30(4):291–301.
Diaz-Martin, Z., et al. “Identifying keystone plant resources in an Amazonian forest using a long-term fruit-fall record.” Journal of Tropical Ecology, vol. 30, no. 4, Jan. 2014, pp. 291–301. Scopus, doi:10.1017/S0266467414000248.
Diaz-Martin Z, Swamy V, Terborgh J, Alvarez-Loayza P, Cornejo F. Identifying keystone plant resources in an Amazonian forest using a long-term fruit-fall record. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 2014 Jan 1;30(4):291–301.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of Tropical Ecology

DOI

EISSN

1469-7831

ISSN

0266-4674

Publication Date

January 1, 2014

Volume

30

Issue

4

Start / End Page

291 / 301

Related Subject Headings

  • Ecology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 1601 Anthropology
  • 0602 Ecology