Seed dispersal effectiveness revisited: a conceptual review

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Botany

Background:

• Seed dispersal studies have rapidly advanced since the seed disperser effectiveness (SDE) framework was established 17 years ago.
• Accumulated new insights necessitate a re-evaluation of the existing SDE framework.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of the SDE framework, its applications, and current knowledge gaps.
• To introduce the SDE landscape as a novel visualization tool for dispersal quantity and quality.
• To discuss recent advances in seed dispersal research and their implications for SDE.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and synthesis of existing research on seed dispersal and the SDE framework.
• Conceptual development of the SDE landscape model.
• Analysis of recent studies to assess impacts on SDE.

Main Results:

• The SDE framework effectively captures the complexities inherent in seed dispersal processes.
• The SDE landscape provides a new visual representation of dispersal dynamics.
• Recent research offers valuable insights into SDE, highlighting emerging issues.

Conclusions:

• The SDE framework remains a robust tool for understanding seed dispersal.
• An expanded definition of dispersal, encompassing all plant recruitment stages, is advocated.
• Estimating SDE across multiple recruitment stages is challenging but crucial for plant ecology and evolution.