RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 Environmental heterogeneity, bird-mediated directed dispersal, and oak woodland dynamics in Mediterranean Spain A1 Rey Benayas, José María A1 Prieto, Fernando A1 Zavala Gironés, Miguel Ángel de A1 Ogle, Kiona A1 Purves, Drew W. K1 Biogeography K1 Climate change K1 Climate Envelope K1 Corvids K1 Dispersal Limitation K1 Garrulus K1 Holm Oak K1 Iberian Peninsular K1 Incidence Function K1 Patch Model K1 Species Migration K1 Zoochory K1 Ciencia K1 Medio Ambiente K1 Science K1 Environmental science AB Vegetation dynamics in complex landscapes depend on interactions amongenvironmental heterogeneity, disturbance, habitat fragmentation, and seed dispersalprocesses. We explore how these features combine to affect the regional abundances anddistributions of three Quercus (oak) species in central Spain: Q. faginea (deciduous tree), Q.ilex (evergreen tree), and Q. coccifera (evergreen shrub). We develop and parameterize astochastic patch occupancy model (SPOM) that, unlike previous SPOMs, includesenvironmentally driven variation in disturbance and establishment. Dispersal in the modelis directed toward local (nearby) suitable habitat patches, following the observed seed-cachingbehavior of the European Jay. Model parameters were estimated using Bayesian methods andsurvey data from 12 047 plots. Model simulations were conducted to explore the importance ofdifferent dispersal modes (local directed, global directed, local random, global random). TheSPOM with local directed dispersal gave a much better fit to the data and reproduced observedregional abundance, abundance–environment correlations, and spatial autocorrelation inabundance for all three species. Model simulations suggest that jay-mediated directed dispersalincreases regional abundance and alters species–environment correlations. Local dispersal isestimated to reduce regional abundances, amplify species–environment correlations, andamplify spatial autocorrelation.Parameter estimates and model simulations reveal important species-specific differences insensitivity to environmental perturbations and dispersal mode. The dominant species Q. ilex isestimated to be highly fecund, but on the edge of its climatic tolerance. Therefore Q. ilex gainslittle from directed dispersal, suffers little from local dispersal, and is relatively insensitive tochanges in habitat cover or disturbance rate; but Q. ilex is highly sensitive to altered droughtlength. In contrast, the rarest species, Q. coccifera, is well adapted to the climate and soils buthas low fecundity; thus, it is highly sensitive to changes in dispersal, habitat cover, anddisturbance but insensitive to altered drought length. Finally, Q. faginea is estimated to beboth at the edge of its climatic tolerance and to have low fecundity, making it sensitive to allperturbations. Apparently, co-occurring species can exhibit very different interactions amongdispersal, environmental characteristics, and physiological tolerances, calling for increasedattention to species-specific dynamics in determining regional vegetation responses toanthropogenic perturbations. PB Ecological Society of America SN 0012-9615 YR 2007 FD 2007 LK http://hdl.handle.net/10017/21393 UL http://hdl.handle.net/10017/21393 LA eng NO Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología DS MINDS@UW RD 29-mar-2024