Scale-dependent responses of pollination and seed dispersal mutualisms in a habitat transformation scenario

Transformed habitats are the result of deliberate replacement of native species by an exotic monoculture, involving changes in biotic and abiotic conditions. Despite this, transformed habitats are becoming more common and constitute a major biodiversity change driver, little is known about the scale-dependent responses of plant-animal mutualisms. Aiming to test the multi-scale responses of pollination and seed dispersal in a habitat transformation scenario, we examined a gradient of native and transformed habitats at three spatial scales (0-50, 50-100, and 100-250 m), focused on a highly-specialized mutualistic system composed of a hemiparasitic mistletoe (Tristerix corymbosus) that is almost exclusively pollinated by a hummingbird (Sephanoides sephaniodes) and dispersed by an arboreal marsupial (Dromiciops gliroides). Even though mistletoes were found along the gradient, they were more abundant and more densely aggregated when the transformed habitat was dominant. Disperser and pollina...