Knowledge Resource Center for Ecological Environment in Arid Area
DOI | 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2009.00552.x |
Giant Tortoises as Ecological Engineers: A Long-term Quasi-experiment in the Galapagos Islands | |
Gibbs, James P.1; Sterling, Eleanor J.2; Javier Zabala, F.3 | |
通讯作者 | Gibbs, James P. |
来源期刊 | BIOTROPICA
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ISSN | 0006-3606 |
出版年 | 2010 |
卷号 | 42期号:2页码:208-214 |
英文摘要 | Giant tortoises were once a megafaunal element widespread in tropical and subtropical ecosystems. The role of giant tortoises as herbivores and seed dispersers, however, is poorly known. We evaluated tortoise impacts on Opuntia cactus (Cactaceae) in the Galapagos Islands, one of the last areas where giant tortoises remain extant, where the cactus is a keystone resource for many animals. We contrasted cactus populations immediately inside and outside natural habitats where tortoises had been held captive for several decades. Through browsing primarily and trampling secondarily tortoises strongly reduced densities of small (0.5-1.5 m high) cacti, especially near adult cacti, and thereby reduced densities of cacti in larger size classes. Tortoises also caused a shift from vegetative to sexual modes of reproduction in cacti. We conclude that giant tortoises promote a sparse and scattered distribution in Opuntia cactus and its associated biota in the Galapagos Islands. |
英文关键词 | cactus Ecuador herbivory opuntia saurocory trampling tropical dry forest |
类型 | Article |
语种 | 英语 |
国家 | USA ; Ecuador |
收录类别 | SCI-E |
WOS记录号 | WOS:000275215700011 |
WOS关键词 | CHIHUAHUAN DESERT ; OPUNTIA ; POPULATION ; VEGETATION ; CACTACEAE ; ECUADOR ; GROWTH ; PLANTS ; CACTUS ; GOATS |
WOS类目 | Ecology |
WOS研究方向 | Environmental Sciences & Ecology |
资源类型 | 期刊论文 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/163516 |
作者单位 | 1.SUNY Syracuse, Coll Environm Sci & Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210 USA; 2.Amer Museum Nat Hist, Ctr Biodivers & Conservat, New York, NY 10024 USA; 3.Charles Darwin Res Stn, Santa Cruz, Galapagos Isl, Ecuador |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Gibbs, James P.,Sterling, Eleanor J.,Javier Zabala, F.. Giant Tortoises as Ecological Engineers: A Long-term Quasi-experiment in the Galapagos Islands[J],2010,42(2):208-214. |
APA | Gibbs, James P.,Sterling, Eleanor J.,&Javier Zabala, F..(2010).Giant Tortoises as Ecological Engineers: A Long-term Quasi-experiment in the Galapagos Islands.BIOTROPICA,42(2),208-214. |
MLA | Gibbs, James P.,et al."Giant Tortoises as Ecological Engineers: A Long-term Quasi-experiment in the Galapagos Islands".BIOTROPICA 42.2(2010):208-214. |
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