Host specificity and experimental assessment of the early establishment of the mistletoe Phoradendron crassifolium (Pohl ex DC.) Eichler (Santalaceae) in a fragment of Atlantic Forest in southeast Brazil

摘要: Mistletoe establishment relies heavily on a seed reaching proper host plant. Small frugivorous birds usually disperse large numbers of mistletoe seeds. However, in the field, mistletoes are absent from some potential available hosts. We investigated whether Phoradendron crassifolium has preferences for specific trees fragment Atlantic Forest southeast Brazil. surveyed 397 tree individuals 50 species within 25 families. Seven those (14%) bore P. infections. Although prevalence at individual level was low (11.6%), there were marked deviations infection levels among and Most (87%) infections (40 46) occurred belonging to families Anacardiaceae (Lithraea molleoides Tapirira guianensis) Siparunaceae (Siparuna guianensis), which nevertheless accounted only 26% hosts (103 397). also performed an experiment simulating bird behavior. inoculated 480 seeds bark four following fate five months. No differences preference observed. The specificity detected local confirmed by survey exsiccata collected over geographical distribution mistletoe, suggesting that is more dependent dispersal limitation than mistletoe-host compatibility.