In:
Biology Letters, The Royal Society, Vol. 14, No. 6 ( 2018-06), p. 20180240-
Kurzfassung:
Mistletoes are a widespread group of plants often considered to be hemiparasitic, having detrimental effects on growth and survival of their hosts. We studied the effects of the Pacific mistletoe, Phoradendron villosum , a member of a largely autotrophic genus, on three species of deciduous California oaks. We found no effects of mistletoe presence on radial growth or survivorship and detected a significant positive relationship between mistletoe and acorn production. This latter result is potentially explained by the tendency of P. villosum to be present on larger trees growing in nitrogen-rich soils or, alternatively, by a preference for healthy, acorn-producing trees by birds that potentially disperse mistletoe. Our results indicate that the negative consequences of Phoradendron presence on their hosts are negligible—this species resembles an epiphyte more than a parasite—and outweighed by the important ecosystem services mistletoe provides.
Materialart:
Online-Ressource
ISSN:
1744-9561
,
1744-957X
DOI:
10.1098/rsbl.2018.0240
Sprache:
Englisch
Verlag:
The Royal Society
Publikationsdatum:
2018
ZDB Id:
2103283-X
SSG:
12