RT journal article
T1 Small size does not restrain frugivory and seed dispersal across the evolutionary radiation of Galapagos lava lizards
A1 Hervías-Parejo, Sandra
A1 Heleno, Ruben
A1 Rumeu Ruiz, Beatriz
A1 Guzmán, Beatriz
A1 Vargas, Pablo
A1 Olesen, Jens M.
A1 Traveset, Anna
A1 Vera, Carlos
A1 Benavides, Edgar
A1 Nogales, Manuel
A2 Biología
AB Frugivory in lizards is often assumed to be constrained by body size; only large individuals are considered capable of consuming fruits, with the potential of acting as seed dispersers. However, only one previous study has tested the correlation of frugivory with body and head size at an archipelago scale across closely related species. All nine lava lizards (Microlophus spp.) were studied on the eleven largest Galapagos islands from 2010 to 2016 to investigate whether frugivory is related to body and head size. We also tested whether fruit abundance influences fruit consumption and explored the effect of seed ingestion on seedling emergence time and percentage. Our results showed that across islands, lava lizards varied considerably in size (64–102mm in mean snout–vent length) and level of frugivory (1–23%, i.e., percentage of droppings with seeds). However, level of frugivory was only weakly affected by size as fruit consumption was also common among small lizards. Lava lizards consumed fruits throughout the year and factors other than fruit abundance may be more important drivers of fruit selection (e.g., fruit size, energy content of pulp). From 2,530 droppings, 1,714 seeds of at least 61 plant species were identified, 76% of the species being native to the Galapagos. Most seeds (91%) showed no external structural damage. Seedling emergence time (44 versus 118days) and percentage (20% versus 12%) were enhanced for lizard-ingested seeds compared to control (uningested) fruits. De-pulping by lizards (i.e., removal of pulp with potential germination inhibitors) might increase the chances that at least some seeds find suitable recruitment conditions. We concluded that lizards are important seed dispersers throughout the year and across the whole archipelago, regardless of body size.
PB OXFORD UNIV PRESS
SN 1674-5507
YR 2019
FD 2019
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/30073
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/30073
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 12-nov-2026