<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Manzaneda, Antonio J.</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Rey, Pedro J.</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Geographical and interspecific variation and the nutrient-enrichment hypothesis as an adaptive advantage of myrmecochory</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Ecography</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">myrmecochory</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">nutrient-enrichment hypothesis (NEH)</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">seed destination</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">seedling survival (voyant)</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">soil properties</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2012</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2012///</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2011.06923.x</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">35</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">322 - 332</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">In myrmecochory, the relocation of diaspores to ant nests may lead to the enhancement of plant fitness because ant nests and their middens are often richer in essential nutrients than surrounding areas. This idea is the basis of the nutrient-enrichment hypothesis (NEH), which suggests that nutrient enrichment may be a major selective influence in the evolution of myrmecochory. However, there is little evidence regarding whether the greater plant performance and fitness enhancement in ant nests is due to nutrient enrichment or other benefits of directed dispersal. Here, we present the results of a large-scale seed-sowing experiment that tests the NEH in the ant-dispersed perennial herb Helleborus foetidus, exploring geographical and inter-ant taxa variation. Experiments were conducted in three well-separated regions of the Iberian Peninsula, targeting the nests of major and minor local ant dispersers (nine ant species in total) and the soil beneath maternal plants as seed destinations. Seedling emergence, survival and early establishment rates, as well as variation in soil characteristics, were obtained for each seed destination at each region. Our results do not fully support the NEH in our study system. Instead, we found that the advantage of ant nest soil for establishment in H. foetidus was conditional. Differences in soil fertility and concomitant differences in seedling establishment between ant nests and beneath the canopy of maternal plants were observed in some regions and for some ant species, but not in others. Thus, the conditional outcomes arise from inconsistencies among regions, between stages of seedling regeneration and among ant species in the advantages of being dispersed to nests. Because variation in the guilds of ant dispersers of myrmecochore plants across their ranges is common, this study illustrates the need to consider geographic and inter-ant taxa variation for a complete evaluation of the NEH.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">4</style></issue><notes><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The following values have no corresponding Zotero field:&lt;br/&gt;publisher: Blackwell Publishing Ltd</style></notes></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Gómez, Crisanto</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Oliveras, Jordi</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Can the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile Mayr) replace native ants in myrmecochory?</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Acta Oecologica</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">ant-plant mutualism</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Argentine ant</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Biological invasion</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Linepithema humile</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">myrmecochory</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">seed dispersal</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2003</style></year></dates><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">24</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">47-53</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">We analyse the inﬂuence of the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile Mayr) on the seed dispersal process of the myrmecochorous plants Euphorbia characias, E. biumbellata, Genista linifolia, G. triﬂora, G. monspessulana and Sarothamnus arboreus. The observations were made in two study plots of Mediterranean cork-oak secondary forest (invaded and non-invaded by L. humile). The presence of L. humile implies the displacement of all native ant species that disperse seeds. Seed transports in the non-invaded zone were carried out by eight ant species. In the invaded zone, L. humile workers removed and transported seeds to the nest. In vertebrate exclusion trials, we observed the same level of seed removal in the invaded and non-invaded zones. Two ﬁndings could explain this result. Although mean time to seed localization was higher for native ants (431.7 s) than that for L. humile (150.5 s), the mean proportion of seeds transported after being detected was higher (50.1%) in non-invaded than in invaded (16.8%) zones. The proportion of seeds removed and transported into an ant nest after an ant-seed interaction had dramatically reduced from non-invaded (41.9%) to invaded (7.4%) zones. The levels of seed dispersal by ants found prior to invasion are unlikely to be maintained in invaded zones. However, total replacement of seed dispersal function is possible if contact iteration ﬁnally offers similar levels or quantities of seeds reaching the nests. The results obtained conﬁrm that the Argentine ant invasion may affect myrmecochory dramatically in the Mediterranean biome.</style></abstract></record></records></xml>