Dissemination limitation and the origin and maintenance of species-rich tropical forests.

An overview of the classes of mechanisms causing recruitment limitation, which includes source limitation, dissemination limitation and establishment limitation, is presented. The three mechanisms of dissemination limitation are discussed in detail with emphasis on how the behaviours and physiologies of animal seed dispersers may lead to dissemination limitation. The different consequences of dissemination limitation for patterns of recruitment in plant populations and how these patterns in turn affect plant community structure are also discussed, including the ways on how dissemination limitation can contribute to the origin and maintenance of species diversity in ecological communities.