Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2025
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E29
Höfundar / Authors: Pawel Wasowicz(1), Ádám Lovas-Kiss(2), Nándor Szabó (2), Andy J. Green (3)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1 Náttúrufræðistofnun (Natural Science Institute of Iceland), 2. MTA-HUN-REN-CER Lendület “Momentum” Dispersal Ecology Research Group, HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Debrecen, Hungary 3. Department of Conservation Biology and Global Change, Estación Biológica de Doñana, Sevilla, Spain
Kynnir / Presenter: Pawel Wasowicz
Dispersal syndromes classify plant species into categories based on morphological traits, such as fleshy fruits or winged seeds, assumed to be adaptations for specific dispersal mechanisms (e.g. animal ingestion, wind, or sea). These classifications are widely used to infer long-distance dispersal (LDD) potential, model plant migration, and predict responses to environmental change. Using 60 years of colonization data from Surtsey, a volcanic island formed in 1963, we tested whether three European classification systems predicted which Icelandic plants established there. Classifications disagreed for most species (≤13% agreement), and two systems showed no overrepresentation of LDD syndromes among colonizers. In EuDiS, wind-dispersed species were favoured, but “unspecialized” taxa dominated. Despite only one species being assigned an endozoochory syndrome, empirical data support avian gut passage for 62 colonizers, mainly dry-fruited plants. Colonization patterns shifted after gull colonies formed in 1986, concentrating new arrivals near nesting areas. Bird-mediated dispersal better explains colonization than morphological syndromes, highlighting the need for empirical, mechanism-based approaches.