1
|
Yu F, Zhang L, Wang Y, Yi X, Zhang S, Ma J, Dong Z, Chen G, Ma K. High rodent abundance increases seed removal but decreases scatter-hoarding and seedling recruitment along an elevational gradient. Integr Zool 2023; 18:843-858. [PMID: 36300758 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12695] [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] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The distributions of small rodents in mountainous environments across different elevations can provide important information regarding the effects of climate change on the dispersal of plant species. However, few studies of oak forest ecosystems have compared the elevational patterns of sympatric rodent diversity, seed dispersal, seed bank, and seedling abundance. Thus, we tested the differences in the seed disperser composition and abundance, seed dispersal, seed bank abundance, and seedling recruitment for Quercus wutaishanica along 10 elevation levels in the Taihang Mountains, China. Our results provide strong evidence that complex asymmetric seed dispersal and seedling regeneration exist along an elevational gradient. The abundance of rodents had a significant negative correlation with the elevation and the seed removal rates peaked and then declined with increasing elevation. The seed removal rates were higher at middle and lower elevations than higher elevations but acorns were predated by 5 species of seed predators at middle and lower elevations, and thus, there was a lower likelihood of recruitment compared with those dropped beneath mother oaks at higher elevations. More importantly, the number of individual seeds in the seed bank and seedlings increased with the elevation, although dispersal services were reduced at sites lacking rodents. As conditional mutualists, the rodents could possibly act as antagonistic seed predators rather than mutualistic seed dispersers at low and middle elevations, thereby resulting in the asymmetric pattern of rodent and seedling abundance with increasing elevation to affect the community assembly and ecosystem functions on a large spatial scale.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fei Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Linjun Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Yang Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Xianfeng Yi
- College of Life Sciences, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
| | - Shuang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jianmin Ma
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Zimei Dong
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Guangwen Chen
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Keming Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Wang W, Wang MY, Zeng Y, Chen X, Wang X, Barrington AM, Tao J, Atkinson RG, Nieuwenhuizen NJ. The terpene synthase (TPS) gene family in kiwifruit shows high functional redundancy and a subset of TPS likely fulfil overlapping functions in fruit flavour, floral bouquet and defence. MOLECULAR HORTICULTURE 2023; 3:9. [PMID: 37789478 PMCID: PMC10514967 DOI: 10.1186/s43897-023-00057-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Volatile terpenes are important compounds that influence fruit flavour and aroma of kiwifruit. Terpenes in plants also impact on the floral bouquet and defence against pests and pathogens in leaves and fruit. To better understand the overlapping roles that terpenes may fulfil in plants, a systematic gene, chemical and biochemical analysis of terpenes and terpene synthases (TPS) was undertaken in Red5 kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.). Analysis of the Red5 genome shows it contains only 22 TPS gene models, of which fifteen encode full-length TPS. Thirteen TPS can account for the major terpene volatiles produced in different tissues of Red5 kiwifruit and in response to different stimuli. The small Red5 TPS family displays surprisingly high functional redundancy with five TPS producing linalool/nerolidol. Treatment of leaves and fruit with methyl jasmonate enhanced expression of a subset of defence-related TPS genes and stimulated the release of terpenes. Six TPS genes were induced upon herbivory of leaves by the economically important insect pest Ctenopseustis obliquana (brown-headed leaf roller) and emission, but not accumulation, of (E)- and (Z)-nerolidol was strongly linked to herbivory. Our results provide a framework to understand the overlapping biological and ecological roles of terpenes in Actinidia and other horticultural crops.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wu Wang
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd (PFR), Private Bag 92169, Auckland, New Zealand
- Institute of Botany, Jiangsu Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210014 China
| | - Mindy Y. Wang
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd (PFR), Private Bag 92169, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Yunliu Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070 People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiuyin Chen
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd (PFR), Private Bag 92169, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Xiaoyao Wang
- Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070 People’s Republic of China
| | - Anne M. Barrington
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd (PFR), Private Bag 92169, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Jianmin Tao
- College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095 China
| | - Ross G. Atkinson
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd (PFR), Private Bag 92169, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Niels J. Nieuwenhuizen
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Ltd (PFR), Private Bag 92169, Auckland, New Zealand
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Animal-mediated plant niche tracking in a changing climate. Trends Ecol Evol 2023:S0169-5347(23)00034-4. [PMID: 36932024 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Abstract
Over half of plant species are animal-dispersed, and our understanding of how animals can help plants move in response to climate change - a process known as niche tracking - is limited, but advancing rapidly. Recent research efforts find evidence that animals are helping plants track their niches. They also identify key conditions needed for animal-mediated niche tracking to occur, including alignment of the timing of seed availability, the directionality of animal movements, and microhabitat conditions where seeds are deposited. A research framework that measures niche tracking effectiveness by considering all parts of the niche-tracking process, and links together data and models from multiple disciplines, will lead to further insight and inform actions to help ecosystems adapt to a changing world.
Collapse
|
4
|
Bartel SL, Orrock JL. The important role of animal social status in vertebrate seed dispersal. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:1094-1109. [PMID: 35235713 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Seed dispersal directly affects plant establishment, gene flow and fitness. Understanding patterns in seed dispersal is, therefore, fundamental to understanding plant ecology and evolution, as well as addressing challenges of extinction and global change. Our ability to understand dispersal is limited because seeds may be dispersed by multiple agents, and the effectiveness of these agents can be highly variable both among and within species. We provide a novel framework that links seed dispersal to animal social status, a key component of behaviour. Because social status affects individual resource access and movement, it provides a critical link to two factors that determine seed dispersal: the quantity of seeds dispersed and the spatial patterns of dispersal. Social status may have unappreciated effects on post-dispersal seed survival and recruitment when social status affects individual habitat use. Hence, environmental changes, such as selective harvesting and urbanisation, that affect animal social structure may have unappreciated consequences for seed dispersal. This framework highlights these exciting new hypotheses linking environmental change, social structure and seed dispersal. By outlining experimental approaches to test these hypotheses, we hope to facilitate studies across a wide diversity of plant-animal networks, which may uncover emerging hotspots or significant declines in seed dispersal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Savannah L Bartel
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - John L Orrock
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Stiegler J, Kiemel K, Eccard J, Fischer C, Hering R, Ortmann S, Strigl L, Tiedemann R, Ullmann W, Blaum N. Seed traits matter-Endozoochoric dispersal through a pervasive mobile linker. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:18477-18491. [PMID: 35003686 PMCID: PMC8717309 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Although many plants are dispersed by wind and seeds can travel long distances across unsuitable matrix areas, a large proportion relies on co-evolved zoochorous seed dispersal to connect populations in isolated habitat islands. Particularly in agricultural landscapes, where remaining habitat patches are often very small and highly isolated, mobile linkers as zoochorous seed dispersers are critical for the population dynamics of numerous plant species. However, knowledge about the quali- or quantification of such mobile link processes, especially in agricultural landscapes, is still limited. In a controlled feeding experiment, we recorded the seed intake and germination success after complete digestion by the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and explored its mobile link potential as an endozoochoric seed disperser. Utilizing a suite of common, rare, and potentially invasive plant species, we disentangled the effects of seed morphological traits on germination success while controlling for phylogenetic relatedness. Further, we measured the landscape connectivity via hares in two contrasting agricultural landscapes (simple: few natural and semi-natural structures, large fields; complex: high amount of natural and semi-natural structures, small fields) using GPS-based movement data. With 34,710 seeds of 44 plant species fed, one of 200 seeds (0.51%) with seedlings of 33 species germinated from feces. Germination after complete digestion was positively related to denser seeds with comparatively small surface area and a relatively slender and elongated shape, suggesting that, for hares, the most critical seed characteristics for successful endozoochorous seed dispersal minimize exposure of the seed to the stomach and the associated digestive system. Furthermore, we could show that a hare's retention time is long enough to interconnect different habitats, especially grasslands and fields. Thus, besides other seed dispersal mechanisms, this most likely allows hares to act as effective mobile linkers contributing to ecosystem stability in times of agricultural intensification, not only in complex but also in simple landscapes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Stiegler
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Plant Ecology and Nature ConservationUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | - Katrin Kiemel
- Institute of Biochemistry and BiologyEvolutionary Biology / Systematic ZoologyUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | - Jana Eccard
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Animal EcologyUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | - Christina Fischer
- Department of Agriculture, Ecotrophology, and Landscape DevelopmentFaunistics and Wildlife ConservationAnhalt University of Applied SciencesBernburgGermany
| | - Robert Hering
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Plant Ecology and Nature ConservationUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | - Sylvia Ortmann
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW)BerlinGermany
| | - Lea Strigl
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Plant Ecology and Nature ConservationUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | - Ralph Tiedemann
- Institute of Biochemistry and BiologyEvolutionary Biology / Systematic ZoologyUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | - Wiebke Ullmann
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Plant Ecology and Nature ConservationUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| | - Niels Blaum
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Plant Ecology and Nature ConservationUniversity of PotsdamPotsdamGermany
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Abstract
The effects of human disturbance spread over virtually all ecosystems and ecological communities on Earth. In this review, we focus on the effects of human disturbance on terrestrial apex predators. We summarize their ecological role in nature and how they respond to different sources of human disturbance. Apex predators control their prey and smaller predators numerically and via behavioral changes to avoid predation risk, which in turn can affect lower trophic levels. Crucially, reducing population numbers and triggering behavioral responses are also the effects that human disturbance causes to apex predators, which may in turn influence their ecological role. Some populations continue to be at the brink of extinction, but others are partially recovering former ranges, via natural recolonization and through reintroductions. Carnivore recovery is both good news for conservation and a challenge for management, particularly when recovery occurs in human-dominated landscapes. Therefore, we conclude by discussing several management considerations that, adapted to local contexts, may favor the recovery of apex predator populations and their ecological functions in nature.
Collapse
|
7
|
Basnett R, Kumar A, Vishwakarma A, Boro BK. Seasonal diets of Asiatic black bear ( Ursus thibetanus) in the Khangchendzonga National Park, Eastern Himalaya India. J NAT HIST 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2021.1899324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rakesh Basnett
- Wildlife Resources & Conservation Laboratory Department of Forestry, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology (Deemed to Be University), Itanagar, India
| | - Awadhesh Kumar
- Wildlife Resources & Conservation Laboratory Department of Forestry, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology (Deemed to Be University), Itanagar, India
| | - Anurag Vishwakarma
- Wildlife Resources & Conservation Laboratory Department of Forestry, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology (Deemed to Be University), Itanagar, India
| | - Barin Kumar Boro
- Wildlife Resources & Conservation Laboratory Department of Forestry, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science & Technology (Deemed to Be University), Itanagar, India
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
The role of the brown bear Ursus arctos as a legitimate megafaunal seed disperser. Sci Rep 2021; 11:1282. [PMID: 33446727 PMCID: PMC7809135 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80440-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Megafaunal frugivores can consume large amounts of fruits whose seeds may be dispersed over long distances, thus, affecting plant regeneration processes and ecosystem functioning. We investigated the role of brown bears (Ursus arctos) as legitimate megafaunal seed dispersers. We assessed the quantity component of seed dispersal by brown bears across its entire distribution based on information about both the relative frequency of occurrence and species composition of fleshy fruits in the diet of brown bears extracted from the literature. We assessed the quality component of seed dispersal based on germination experiments for 11 fleshy-fruited plant species common in temperate and boreal regions and frequently eaten by brown bears. Across its distribution, fleshy fruits, on average, represented 24% of the bear food items and 26% of the total volume consumed. Brown bears consumed seeds from at least 101 fleshy-fruited plant species belonging to 24 families and 42 genera, of which Rubus (Rosaceae) and Vaccinium (Ericaceae) were most commonly eaten. Brown bears inhabiting Mediterranean forests relied the most on fleshy fruits and consumed the largest number of species per study area. Seeds ingested by bears germinated at higher percentages than those from whole fruits, and at similar percentages than manually depulped seeds. We conclude that brown bears are legitimate seed dispersers as they consume large quantities of seeds that remain viable after gut passage. The decline of these megafaunal frugivores may compromise seed dispersal services and plant regeneration processes.
Collapse
|