1
|
Mahoney SM, Pasch B. Evolutionary lability of food caching behaviour in mammals. J Anim Ecol 2024; 93:862-875. [PMID: 38831563 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Food hoarding provides animals access to resources during periods of scarcity. Studies on mammalian caching indicate associations with brain size, seasonality and diet but are biased to a subset of rodents. Whether the behaviour is generalizable at other taxonomic scales and/or is influenced by other ecological factors is less understood. Population density may influence food caching due to food competition or pilferage, but this remains untested in a comparative framework. Using phylogenetic analyses, we assessed the role of morphology (body and brain size), climate, diet breadth and population density on food caching behaviour evolution at multiple taxonomic scales. We also used a long-term dataset on caching behaviour of red squirrels (Tamiasciurus fremonti) to test key factors (climate and population density) on hoarding intensity. Consistent with previous smaller scale studies, we found the mammalian ancestral state for food caching was larderhoarding, and scatterhoarding was derived. Caching strategy was strongly associated with brain size, population density and climate. Mammals with larger brains and hippocampal volumes were more likely to scatterhoard, and species living at higher population densities and in colder climates were more likely to larderhoard. Finer-scale analyses within families, sub-families and tribes indicated that the behaviour is evolutionary labile. Brain size in family Sciuridae and tribe Marmotini was larger in scatterhoarders, but not in other tribes. Scatterhoarding in tribe Marmotini was more likely in species with lower population densities while scatterhoarding in tribe Sciurini was associated with warmer climates. Red squirrel larderhoarding intensity was positively related to population density but not climate, implicating food competition or pilferage as an important mechanism mediating caching behaviour. Our results are consistent with previous smaller-scale studies on food caching and indicate the evolutionary patterns of mammalian food caching are broadly generalizable. Given the lability of caching behaviour as evidenced by the variability of our results at finer phylogenetic scales, comparative analyses must consider taxonomic scale. Applying our results to conservation could prove useful as changes in population density or climate may select for different food caching strategies and thus can inform management of threatened and endangered species and their habitats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sean M Mahoney
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Bret Pasch
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Are seed-dispersing ants elaiosome-limited? An experimental test in a Connecticut forest dominated by myrmecochorous plants. FOOD WEBS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
|
3
|
Zhang Y, Yu F, Yi X, Zhou W, Liu R, Holyoak M, Cao L, Zhang M, Chen J, Zhang Z, Yan C. Evolutionary and ecological patterns of scatter- and larder-hoarding behaviours in rodents. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:1202-1214. [PMID: 35230727 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Scatter- and larder hoarding are the primary strategies of food-hoarding animals and have important implications for plant-animal interactions and plant recruitment. However, their origins and influencing factors have not been fully investigated across a wide range of taxa. Our systematic literature search amassed data for 183 seed-hoarding rodent species worldwide and tested relationships of seed-hoarding behaviours with phylogenetic signal, functional traits and environmental factors. We found that the evolution of hoarding strategies was not random in phylogeny, and scatter hoarding originated independently multiple times from larder hoarding. Rodents with higher encephalisation quotient (relative brain size), omnivorous diet (related to dependence on seeds) and inhabiting lower latitudes were disproportionately likely to scatter hoard. Despite body mass's potential relationship with competition through food defence, it was associated with food-hoarding strategy only in a few families. Our results show the need to study the community and ecological context of food-hoarding behaviours.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yongjun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology & School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Fei Yu
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Xianfeng Yi
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
| | - Weiwei Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology & School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Rui Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology & School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Marcel Holyoak
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Lin Cao
- School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Mingming Zhang
- College of Agriculture, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
| | - Jiani Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology & School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zhibin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chuan Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, College of Ecology & School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Gill NS, Turner MG, Brown CD, Glassman SI, Haire SL, Hansen WD, Pansing ER, St Clair SB, Tomback DF. Limitations to Propagule Dispersal Will Constrain Postfire Recovery of Plants and Fungi in Western Coniferous Forests. Bioscience 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biab139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Many forest species are adapted to long-interval, high-severity fires, but the intervals between severe fires are decreasing with changes in climate, land use, and biological invasions. Although the effects of changing fire regimes on some important recovery processes have previously been considered, the consequences for the dispersal of propagules (plant seeds and fungal spores) in forest communities have not. We characterize three mechanisms by which changing fire regimes disrupt propagule dispersal in mesic temperate, boreal, and high-elevation forests: reduced abundance and altered spatial distributions of propagule source populations, less effective dispersal of propagules by wind, and altered behavior of animal dispersers and propagule predators. We consider how disruptions to propagule dispersal may interact with other factors that are also influenced by fire regime change, potentially increasing risk of forest conversion. Finally, we highlight urgent research topics regarding how dispersal limitation may shape twenty-first century forest recovery after stand-replacing fire.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nathan S Gill
- Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States
| | - Monica G Turner
- University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
| | - Carissa D Brown
- Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
| | | | - Sandra L Haire
- Haire Laboratory for Landscape Ecology, Tucson, Arizona, United States
| | | | | | | | - Diana F Tomback
- University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado, United States
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Rogers HS, Donoso I, Traveset A, Fricke EC. Cascading Impacts of Seed Disperser Loss on Plant Communities and Ecosystems. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-012221-111742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Seed dispersal is key to the persistence and spread of plant populations. Because the majority of plant species rely on animals to disperse their seeds, global change drivers that directly affect animals can cause cascading impacts on plant communities. In this review, we synthesize studies assessing how disperser loss alters plant populations, community patterns, multitrophic interactions, and ecosystem functioning. We argue that the magnitude of risk to plants from disperser loss is shaped by the combination of a plant species’ inherent dependence on seed dispersal and the severity of the hazards faced by their dispersers. Because the factors determining a plant species’ risk of decline due to disperser loss can be related to traits of the plants and dispersers, our framework enables a trait-based understanding of change in plant community composition and ecosystem functioning. We discuss how interactions among plants, among dispersers, and across other trophic levels also mediate plant community responses, and we identify areas for future research to understand and mitigate the consequences of disperser loss on plants globally.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haldre S. Rogers
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
| | - Isabel Donoso
- Global Change Research Group, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, 07190 Esporles, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Anna Traveset
- Global Change Research Group, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, 07190 Esporles, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
| | - Evan C. Fricke
- Department of BioSciences, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Bartel SL, Orrock JL. Past and present disturbances generate spatial variation in seed predation. Ecosphere 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Savannah L. Bartel
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Wisconsin‐Madison 430 Lincoln Drive Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - John L. Orrock
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Wisconsin‐Madison 430 Lincoln Drive Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Gómez JM, Schupp EW, Jordano P. Synzoochory: the ecological and evolutionary relevance of a dual interaction. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2018; 94:874-902. [PMID: 30467946 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2018] [Revised: 10/22/2018] [Accepted: 10/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- José María Gómez
- Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Ctra Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, E-04120 Almería, Spain
| | - Eugene W Schupp
- Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, S. J. and Jesse E. Quinney College of Natural Resources, 5230 Old Main Hill, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-5230,, U.S.A
| | - Pedro Jordano
- Departamento de Ecología Integrativa, Integrative Ecology Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Avda. Americo Vespucio S/N, E-41092 Sevilla, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Wang M, Zhang D, Wang Z, Yi X. Improved spatial memory promotes scatter hoarding by Siberian chipmunks. J Mammal 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyy109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Minghui Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Dongyuan Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Zhenyu Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Xianfeng Yi
- College of Life Sciences, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|