Consequences of tropical dry forest conversion on diaspore fate of Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Fabaceae)

Abstract

Habitat conversion is one of the major threats for biodiversity conservation and viability of natural populations. Thus, habitat disturbance alters distinct ecological processes, such as plant reproductive success and diaspore fate. In this study, we determined the effects of seasonally tropical dry forests (STDFs) conversion by anthropogenic disturbance by assessing diaspore fate of Enterolobium contortisiliquum. We compared 20 adult trees present in a STDFs preserved area and 20 adult trees present in a human-converted area. In general, diaspore fates from both areas were similar, i.e., there was no difference in the reproductive success of trees in STDFs and human-converted area. Habitat disturbance did not affect the length or width of fruits; only fruit thickness was larger in trees of STDFs habitat. None of the biometric seed measures differed between different habitat conditions. Likewise, the number of undamaged seeds, aborted seeds, pre-dispersal predated seeds, and seed production were independent of habitat conditions. Besides, we did not observe any effect of habitat disturbance on germination percentage. However, seeds from preserved STDFs germinated faster than seeds from the human-converted area. Even though the effects of human-modified habitats on the diaspore fate have already been studied, tree species exhibit different responses to habitat conversion regarding seed predation, seed dispersal, seed germination, and seedling establishment. Overall, our results show that habitat disturbance does not affect the diaspore fate of E. contortisiliquum. This study also highlights the importance of remnants trees in converted landscapes as the population’s connectors which maintain plant–animal mutualistic and antagonistic interactions that mitigate the effects of habitat disturbance.