Seed dispersers as disease vectors: Bird transmission of mistletoe seeds to plant hosts
Author
dc.contributor.author
Martínez del Río, Carlos
Author
dc.contributor.author
Silva, A.
Author
dc.contributor.author
Medel Contreras, Rodrigo
Author
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Hourdequin, M.
Admission date
dc.date.accessioned
2018-12-20T14:39:20Z
Available date
dc.date.available
2018-12-20T14:39:20Z
Publication date
dc.date.issued
1996
Cita de ítem
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Ecology, Volumen 77, Issue 3, 2018, Pages 912-921
Identifier
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00129658
Identifier
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https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/156879
Abstract
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The relationship between mistletoes and birds has been studied from the perspectives of mutualism and seed dispersal. Here, we emphasize the role that avian dispersers play as agents of mistletoe seed transmission to plant hosts. We describe the patterns of transmission of the seeds of Tristerix aphyllus, an endophytic Chilean mistletoe, on two of its columnar cacti hosts (Eulychnia acida and Echinopsis skottsbergii) by the Chilean Mockingbird Mimus thenca. In north-central Chile, these cacti grow in relatively discrete subpopulations on north-facing slopes. We measured variation in seed transmission within 10 subpopulations varying in species composition, host density, parasite density, parasite prevalence (defined as the percentage of hosts infested in a given population), and disperser abundance. Seed transmission was independent of species, but was strongly dependent on prior parasitism. Parasitized individuals received seeds much more frequently than expected from their relative a