Data from: Frugivory-mediated trophic cascades: How apex predators can shape the recruitment of a fleshy-fruited tree

The recovery of large carnivores offers unique opportunities to study
their cascading impacts on plant population dynamics. Medium-sized
carnivores, both prey and seed dispersers, are suppressed by apex
predators, indirectly increasing seed-eating rodent’s populations and
potentially altering plant establishment. We investigated how natural
variation in the presence of the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus), a top
predator in southern Spain, triggered cascading effects on the recruitment
of the Iberian pear (Pyrus bourgaeana) through altered seed dispersal
patterns by mesopredators and post-dispersal seed predation by rodents. To
assess whether and how the seed-dispersal effectiveness of the Iberian
pear was influenced by lynx presence across different habitats (open,
forest) and microsites (shrub, rock and open), we conducted field
experiments and observations spanning multiple life-cycle stages of this
fleshy-fruited tree mainly dispersed by carnivorous mammals. Path analysis
revealed that lynx presence decreased seed dispersal by 80% and biased it
toward forests, where seedling survival was extremely low (1%). Most of
the seeds were delivered in open microsites (61%), particularly in lynx
absence by the red fox. Although we detected no direct effect of lynx
presence on post-dispersal seed predation, rodents removed 49% and 116%
more seeds under shrubs than in rock and open interspaces, respectively,
negatively affecting plant recruitment. Since shrubs provided the most
favourable conditions for seedling survival, particularly in open
habitats, these results expose a seed-seedling conflict, whereby
microsites with the highest seed predation are also those that maximize
seedling establishment. This may limit the expansion potential of the
Iberian pear, and likely other fleshy-fruited species, under the current
scenario of apex predators rewilding. Reintroduction programs of
threatened carnivores should account for trophic cascades that may disrupt
frugivory interactions and ultimately shape plant recruitment and
establishment. This is especially relevant in defaunated ecosystems, where
plant–animal mutualisms are often compromised.