Limited potential for bird migration to disperse plants to cooler latitudes

Juan P. González-Varo (), Beatriz Rumeu, Jörg Albrecht, Juan M. Arroyo, Rafael S. Bueno, Tamara Burgos, Luís P. da Silva, Gema Escribano-Ávila, Nina Farwig, Daniel García, Ruben H. Heleno, Juan C. Illera, Pedro Jordano, Przemysław Kurek, Benno I. Simmons, Emilio Virgós, William J. Sutherland and Anna Traveset
Additional contact information
Juan P. González-Varo: IVAGRO, Universidad de Cádiz
Beatriz Rumeu: IVAGRO, Universidad de Cádiz
Jörg Albrecht: Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F)
Juan M. Arroyo: Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC)
Rafael S. Bueno: Università degli Studi di Palermo
Tamara Burgos: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Luís P. da Silva: University of Porto
Gema Escribano-Ávila: Mediterranean Institute of Advanced Studies (CSIC-UIB)
Nina Farwig: University of Marburg
Daniel García: Oviedo University
Ruben H. Heleno: University of Coimbra
Juan C. Illera: Oviedo University
Pedro Jordano: Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC)
Przemysław Kurek: Adam Mickiewicz University
Benno I. Simmons: University of Exeter
Emilio Virgós: Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
William J. Sutherland: University of Cambridge
Anna Traveset: Mediterranean Institute of Advanced Studies (CSIC-UIB)

Nature, 2021, vol. 595, issue 7865, 75-79

Abstract: Abstract Climate change is forcing the redistribution of life on Earth at an unprecedented velocity1,2. Migratory birds are thought to help plants to track climate change through long-distance seed dispersal3,4. However, seeds may be consistently dispersed towards cooler or warmer latitudes depending on whether the fruiting period of a plant species coincides with northward or southward migrations. Here we assess the potential of plant communities to keep pace with climate change through long-distance seed dispersal by migratory birds. To do so, we combine phenological and migration information with data on 949 seed-dispersal interactions between 46 bird and 81 plant species from 13 woodland communities across Europe. Most of the plant species (86%) in these communities are dispersed by birds migrating south, whereas only 35% are dispersed by birds migrating north; the latter subset is phylogenetically clustered in lineages that have fruiting periods that overlap with the spring migration. Moreover, the majority of this critical dispersal service northwards is provided by only a few Palaearctic migrant species. The potential of migratory birds to assist a small, non-random sample of plants to track climate change latitudinally is expected to strongly influence the formation of novel plant communities, and thus affect their ecosystem functions and community assembly at higher trophic levels.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03665-2

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