title: Hypercarnivorous apex predator could provide ecosystem services by dispersing seeds.
abstract: Large "hypercarnivorous" felids are recognized for their role as apex predators and hence as key elements in food webs and ecosystem functioning through competition and depredation. Here we show that cougars (Puma concolor), one of the largest and the most widely ranging apex felid predators with a strictly carnivorous diet, could also be effective secondary long distance seed dispersers, potentially establishing direct and non-herbivore mediated interactions with plant species at the bottom of the food web. Cougars accidently ingest and disseminate large amounts of seeds (31,678 seeds in 123 scats) of plant species initially consumed by their main prey, the Eared Dove Zenaida auriculata. The germination potential of seeds for the three plant species most abundantly found in cougar scats (19,570 seeds) was not significantly different from that observed in seeds obtained from dove gizzards, indicating that seed passage through cougar guts did not affect seed germination. Considering the estimated cougar density in our study area, dispersal of seeds by cougars could allow a mean, annual seed spread of ~5,000 seeds per km(2). Our results demonstrate that strictly carnivorous, felid predators could have broad and overlooked ecological functions related to ecosystem structuring and functioning.
authors.affiliation: Centro para el Estudio y Conservación de las Aves Rapaces en Argentina (CECARA), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, Avda. Uruguay 151, 6300 Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina.|Instituto de las Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa (INCITAP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Avda. Uruguay 151, 6300 Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina.
authors.forename: José Hernán
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Sarasola
authors.affiliation: Centro para el Estudio y Conservación de las Aves Rapaces en Argentina (CECARA), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, Avda. Uruguay 151, 6300 Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina.|Instituto de las Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa (INCITAP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Avda. Uruguay 151, 6300 Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina.
authors.forename: Juan Ignacio
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Zanón-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Centro para el Estudio y Conservación de las Aves Rapaces en Argentina (CECARA), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, Avda. Uruguay 151, 6300 Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina.|Instituto de las Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa (INCITAP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Avda. Uruguay 151, 6300 Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina.
authors.forename: Andrea Silvina
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Costán
authors.affiliation: Global Trophic Cascades Program, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Ripple
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001118:Argentina; D060435:Carnivory; D017753:Ecosystem; D020387:Food Chain; D011156:Population Density; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D046011:Puma; D058614:Seed Dispersal