Abstract
Abstract Worldwide, parasitic mistletoe species have become successful inhabitants of urban forests, despite novel host trees and communities of potential avian dispersers compared to natural habitats. Though land managers often remove mistletoe because of its impact on urban trees, these hemiparasites may nonetheless provide important food resources and structural heterogeneity for local avifauna. This study compares bigleaf mistletoe’s ( Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllum ) host distribution and relationships with birds in the urban and natural landscapes of California’s Central Valley. We established vegetation plots in urban parks and riparian forests to survey mistletoe distributions and measured avian visitation and behavior within individual trees. Mistletoe was detected in 10 of 32 surveyed tree species. Mistletoe presence did not vary across land-uses or tree origins (i.e., native vs. non-native trees); however, infestation levels were highest on larger and nonnative trees. Bird species richness and abundance were higher in trees with mistletoe, a pattern driven by insectivorous gleaning species. Birds were more likely to be observed foraging in trees with mistletoe in natural areas but not urban areas. Finally, birds observed foraging or gleaning were more likely to use mistletoe compared to birds observed perching. Our study reinforces ideas surrounding mistletoe’s host adaptability and importance for native birds. While prior work has focused on the importance of its berries and nectar, we found that mistletoe may also be important for invertebrate-gleaning birds. Looking forward, land managers should look to balance the biodiversity benefits of native mistletoe against potential effects on tree health.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Mistletoe occurred in 10 of 32 surveyed tree species.
- Taxon
- Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllum
Phoradendron leucarpume1 - Outcome
- Mistletoe was detectede0
- Value
- 10 of 32 surveyed tree speciese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Mistletoe was detected in 10 of 32 surveyed tree species”
e1“bigleaf mistletoe’s ( Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllum )”
Claim · model-written summary
Mistletoe presence did not vary across land uses or tree origins.
- Taxon
- Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllumPhoradendron leucarpume1
- Outcome
- Mistletoe presencee0
- Direction
- did not varye0
- Comparator
- land-uses or tree originse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Mistletoe presence did not vary across land-uses or tree origins (i.e., native vs. non-native trees)”
e1“Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllum”
Claim · model-written summary
Mistletoe infestation was highest on larger and nonnative trees.
- Taxon
- Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllumPhoradendron leucarpume1
- Interactor
- treese0host
- Outcome
- infestation levelse0
- Direction
- higheste0
- Qualifier
- larger and nonnativee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“infestation levels were highest on larger and nonnative trees”
e1“Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllum”
Claim · model-written summary
Bird richness and abundance were higher in mistletoe-bearing trees.
- Taxon
- Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllumPhoradendron leucarpume1
- Interactor
- Birde0other
- Outcome
- Bird species richness and abundancee0
- Direction
- highere0
- Comparator
- trees with mistletoee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Bird species richness and abundance were higher in trees with mistletoe”
e1“Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllum”
Claim · model-written summary
Insectivorous gleaning species drove the higher bird counts.
- Taxon
- Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllumPhoradendron leucarpume2
- Interactor
- insectivorous gleaning speciese0other
- Outcome
- pattern driven by insectivorous gleaning speciese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a pattern driven by insectivorous gleaning species”
e1“Bird species richness and abundance were higher in trees with mistletoe”
e2“Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllum”
Claim · model-written summary
Birds were more likely to forage in mistletoe-bearing trees in natural areas.
- Taxon
- Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllumPhoradendron leucarpume1
- Outcome
- Birds were more likely to be observed foraginge0
- Direction
- more likelye0
- Setting
- natural arease0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Birds were more likely to be observed foraging in trees with mistletoe in natural areas but not urban areas”
e1“Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllum”
Claim · model-written summary
Foraging or gleaning birds used mistletoe more often than perching birds.
- Taxon
- Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllumPhoradendron leucarpume1
- Outcome
- use mistletoee0
- Direction
- more likelye0
- Comparator
- birds observed perchinge0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“birds observed foraging or gleaning were more likely to use mistletoe compared to birds observed perching”
e1“Phoradendron leucarpum spp. macrophyllum”
Claim · model-written summary
Managers should balance biodiversity benefits with tree health effects.
Verbatim
e0“land managers should look to balance the biodiversity benefits of native mistletoe against potential effects on tree health”