Journal of Ecology
2021
109
4
1909-1918
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13615
ISSN en línea:1365-2745, ISSN impreso:0022-0478
competition, density dependence, predation, regeneration, seedling recruitment, trophic interactions, tropical rain forests
1. Natural enemies have been implicated as agents of negative density dependence (NDD) in tropical forests, but their relative contributions to NDD, and thus to the maintenance of diversity, are largely unknown. 2. We monitored the rates of survival and relative growth rates on seedlings for 10 years in tropical moist forest in Manu National Park, Peru. We then experimentally manipulated the plots to exclude fungal pathogens, insects, small mammals and large mammals for an additional 31 months to assess the influence of these natural enemies on density-dependent interactions among tropical seedlings. 3. Fungal pathogens made the most important contribution to NDD. The application of fungicide led to lower mortality rates, faster growth rates and decreased species diversity. Other taxa of natural enemies had at most minor effects on seedling performance. 4. Synthesis. We conclude that fungal pathogens are the strongest contributors to the widely observed NDD that occurs among seedlings. Moreover, the presence of fungal pathogens augments the species diversity of seedlings, indicating their critical contribution to the maintenance of species coexistence and the structure of tropical tree communities.
© 2021 British Ecological Society
Hazelwood Kirstie ,Beck Harald ,Paine C. E. Timothy
British Ecological Society / Wiley
Londres, Reino Unido
Inglés
Articulo de revista academica