Vagrant birds as a dispersal vector in transoceanic range expansion of vascular plants

dc.contributor.authorKalwij, Jesse M.
dc.contributor.authorMedan, Diego
dc.contributor.authorKellermann, Jurgen
dc.contributor.authorGreve, Michelle
dc.contributor.authorChown, Steven L.
dc.date.accessioned2020-08-29T08:34:03Z
dc.date.available2020-08-29T08:34:03Z
dc.date.issued2019-03
dc.description.abstractBirds are thought to be important vectors underlying the disjunct distribution patterns of some terrestrial biota. Here, we investigate the role of birds in the colonisation by Ochetophila trinervis (Rhamnaceae), a vascular plant from the southern Andes, of sub-Antarctic Marion Island. The location of O. trinervis on the island far from human activities, in combination with a reconstruction of island visitors’ travel history, precludes an anthropogenic introduction. Notably, three bird species occurring in the southern Andes inland have been observed as vagrants on Marion Island, with the barn swallow Hirundo rustica as the most common one. This vagrant displays long-distance migratory behaviour, eats seeds when insects are in short supply, and has started breeding in South America since the 1980s. Since naturalised O. trinervis has never been found outside the southern Andes and its diaspores are incapable of surviving in seawater or dispersing by wind, a natural avian dispersal event from the Andes to Marion Island, a distance of >7500 km, remains the only probable explanation. Although one self-incompatible shrub seems doomed to remain solitary, its mere establishment on a Southern Ocean island demonstrates the potential of vagrancy as a driver of extreme long-distance dispersal of terrestrial biota.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentPlant Production and Soil Scienceen_ZA
dc.description.librarianpm2020en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipSouth African National Research Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and Open Access Publishing Fund of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.nature.com/srepen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationKalwij, J.M., Medan, D., Kellermann, J. et al. Vagrant birds as a dispersal vector in transoceanic range expansion of vascular plants. Scientific Reports 9, 4655 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-41081-9.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn2045-2322 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1038/s41598-019-41081-9
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/75967
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherNature Researchen_ZA
dc.rights© The Author(s) 2019. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.en_ZA
dc.subjectAnimal migrationen_ZA
dc.subjectBiogeographyen_ZA
dc.subjectPopulation dynamicsen_ZA
dc.subjectTerrestrial biotaen_ZA
dc.subjectBirdsen_ZA
dc.subjectOchetophila trinervisen_ZA
dc.subjectVascular planten_ZA
dc.titleVagrant birds as a dispersal vector in transoceanic range expansion of vascular plantsen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Kalwij_Vagrant_2019.pdf
Size:
1.66 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Article
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Kalwij_VagrantSuppl_2019.pdf
Size:
106.96 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Supplementary Material

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.75 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: