title: The contribution of seed dispersers to tree species diversity in tropical rainforests.
abstract: Tropical rainforests are known for their extreme biodiversity, posing a challenging problem in tropical ecology. Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the diversity of tree species, yet our understanding of this phenomenon remains incomplete. Here, we consider the contribution of animal seed dispersers to the species diversity of trees. We built a multi-layer lattice model of trees whose animal seed dispersers are allowed to move only in restricted areas to disperse the tree seeds. We incorporated the effects of seed dispersers in the traditional theory of allopatric speciation on a geological time scale. We modified the lattice model to explicitly examine the coexistence of new tree species and the resulting high biodiversity. The results indicate that both the coexistence and diversified evolution of tree species can be explained by the introduction of animal seed dispersers.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University , Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kakishima
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical and Systems Engineering , Shizuoka University , Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity Conservation Planning Section, Center for Environmental Biology and Ecosystem Studies , National Institute for Environmental Studies , Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan.
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.affiliation: Center for Ecological Research , Kyoto University , Otsu, Shiga 520-2113, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical and Systems Engineering , Shizuoka University , Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan.
authors.forename: Saki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology , Shinshu University , Matsumoto, Nagano 390-8621, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asami
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University , Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences , California State University , Chico, CA 95929, USA.
authors.forename: Donald G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University , Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uehara
authors.affiliation: Department of Food, Life, and Environmental Science, Faculty of Agriculture , Yamagata University , Tsuruoka, Yamagata 997-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Systematics , Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University , Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8589, Japan.
authors.forename: Eisuke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Insect Ecology , Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University , Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsuura
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology , Faculty of Science, Kyushu University , Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan.
authors.forename: Eiiti
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kasuya
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University , Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan ; Department of Mathematical and Systems Engineering , Shizuoka University , Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan ; Marine Biosystems Research Center , Chiba University , Kamogawa, Chiba 299-5502, Japan ; Department of Environmental and Forest Biology , State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry , Syracuse, NY 13210, USA.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
keywords: animal seed dispersers; coexistence; glacial periods; multi-layer lattice model; tropical rainforests