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WANG M, YI X. The effects of seed detectability and seed traits on hoarding preference of two rodent species. Integr Zool 2022; 17:944-952. [PMID: 34951115 PMCID: PMC9786256 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Seed traits play an important role in affecting seed preference and hoarding behaviors of small rodents. Despite greatly affected by seed traits, seed detectability of competitors represents pilfering risks and may also modify seed hoarding preference of animals. However, whether seed traits and seed detectability show consistent effects on seed hoarding preference of animals remain largely unknown. Here, we explored how seed traits and seed detectability correlate with seed hoarding preference of Leopoldamys edwardsi and Apodemus chevrieri in a subtropical forest. Despite the effects of seed coat thickness and caloric value on hoarding preference of L. edwardsi, we detected no significant effects of other seed traits on hording preference of the 2 rodent species. There was no correlation between larder-hoarding preference and inter- or intra-specific seed detectability of L. edwardsi; however, seed detectability of L. edwardsi was negatively correlated with its own scatter-hoarding preference. Although scatter-hoarding preference of A. chevrieri was not correlated with inter- and intra-specific seed detectability, larder-hoarding preference of A. chevrieri was positively correlated with intra-specific seed detectability. Our study may provide evidence that intra-specific seed detectability rather than seed traits and inter-specific pilfering risks play an important role in modifying seed hoarding preference of rodents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minghui WANG
- College of Life SciencesQufu Normal UniversityQufuChina
| | - Xianfeng YI
- College of Life SciencesQufu Normal UniversityQufuChina
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2
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Chen S, Feng L, Wang B. Seed size affects rodent-seed interaction consistently across plant species but not within species: evidence from a seed tracking experiment of 41 tree species. Integr Zool 2021; 17:930-943. [PMID: 34936198 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Scatter-hoarding rodents play a crucial role in seed survival and seed dispersal. As one of the most important seed traits, seed size and its effect on rodent-seed interaction attract lots of attention. Current studies usually target one or a few species and show inconsistent patterns; however, few experiments include a large number of species although many plant species usually coexist in natural forest and overlap in fruiting time. Here, we tracked the dispersal and predation of 26,100 seeds belonging to 41 tree species in a subtropical forest for two years. Most species showed no relationships between seed size and rodent foraging preference, while the remaining species displayed diverse of patterns: monotonic decrease and increase trends, and hump-shaped and U-shaped patterns, indicating that a one-off study with a few species might give misleading information. However, the seed size effect across species was consistent in both years, indicating that including a large number of species that hold a sufficient range of seed size may avoid the aforementioned bias. Interestingly, seed size effect differed among rodent foraging processes: a negative effect on seed harvest, a hump-shaped effect on seed removal and removal distance, while a positive effect on overwinter survival of cached seeds, indicating that rodents may make trade-offs between large and small seeds both among foraging processes and within a single process, thus lead to a parabolic relationship between seed size and seed dispersal success, i.e., medium-sized seeds were more likely to be removed and cached, and transported with a further distance. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Si Chen
- Ailaoshan Station of Subtropical Forest Ecosystem Studies, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jingdong, China.,School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, China
| | - Li Feng
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, China
| | - Bo Wang
- School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, China
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3
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Hou X, Zhang B, Steele MA, Han N, Feng T, Wang J, Chen X, An X, Chang G. Seed traits and rodent community interact to determine seed fate: evidence from both enclosure and field experiments. Integr Zool 2021; 16:939-954. [PMID: 34599548 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Animal-mediated seed dispersal is an important ecological process in which a strong mutualism between animals and plants can arise. However, few studies have examined how a community of potential seed dispersers interacts with sympatric seed trees. We employed a series of experiments in the Qinling Mountains in both semi-natural enclosure and the field to assess the interactions among 3 sympatric rodent species and 3 Fagaceae tree seeds. Seed traits all showed similar tannin levels but markedly different physical traits and nutritional contents. We found that seeds with heavy weight, thick coat, and high nutritional contents were less likely to be eaten in situ but more often to be eaten after dispersal or hoarded by rodents. These results support both the handling time hypothesis and the high nutrition hypothesis. Surprisingly, we also found that rodents, maybe, preferred to consume seeds with low levels of crude fiber in situ, and to harvest and hoard those with high levels of crude fiber for later consumption. The sympatric rodent species, Cansumys canus, the largest rodent in our study, harvested and hoarded more Quercus variabilis seeds with high physical and nutritional traits, while Apodemus draco, the smallest rodent, harvested more Q. serrata seeds with low physical and nutritional traits, and Niviventer confucianus harvested and hoarded more Q. aliena seeds with medium physical and nutritional traits. Our study demonstrates that different seed traits play different roles in influencing the seed fate and the shaping of mutualism and predation interactions within a community of rodent species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Hou
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, Xi'an, China
| | - Bo Zhang
- School of Biomedicine and Food Engineering, Shangluo University, Shangluo, China
| | - Michael A Steele
- Department of Biology, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Ning Han
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, Xi'an, China
| | - Tuo Feng
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, Xi'an, China
| | - Jing Wang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, Xi'an, China
| | - Xiaoning Chen
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, Xi'an, China
| | - Xiaolei An
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, Xi'an, China
| | - Gang Chang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, Xi'an, China
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4
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Hunt VM, Brown JS. Coexistence and displacement in consumer-resource systems with local and shared resources. THEOR ECOL-NETH 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s12080-017-0350-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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5
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Balme GA, Miller JRB, Pitman RT, Hunter LTB. Caching reduces kleptoparasitism in a solitary, large felid. J Anim Ecol 2017; 86:634-644. [PMID: 28217865 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2016] [Accepted: 12/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Food caching is a common strategy used by a diversity of animals, including carnivores, to store and/or secure food. Despite its prevalence, the drivers of caching behaviour, and its impacts on individuals, remain poorly understood, particularly for short-term food cachers. Leopards Panthera pardus exhibit a unique form of short-term food caching, regularly hoisting, storing and consuming prey in trees. We explored the factors motivating such behaviour among leopards in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa, associated with four not mutually exclusive hypotheses: food-perishability, consumption-time, resource-pulse and kleptoparasitism-avoidance. Using data from 2032 prey items killed by 104 leopards from 2013 to 2015, we built generalized linear mixed models to examine how hoisting behaviour, feeding time and the likelihood of a kill being kleptoparasitized varied with leopard sex and age, prey size and vulnerability, vegetation, elevation, climate, and the immediate and long-term risk posed by dominant competitors. Leopards hoisted 51% of kills. They were more likely to hoist kills of an intermediate size, outside of a resource pulse and in response to the presence of some competitors. Hoisted kills were also fed on for longer than non-hoisted kills. At least 21% of kills were kleptoparasitized, mainly by spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta. Kills were more likely to be kleptoparasitized at lower temperatures and if prey were larger, not hoisted, and in areas where the risk of encountering hyaenas was greatest. Female leopards that suffered higher rates of kleptoparasitism exhibited lower annual reproductive success than females that lost fewer kills. Our results strongly support the kleptoparasitism-avoidance hypothesis and suggest hoisting is a key adaptation that enables leopards to coexist sympatrically with high densities of competitors. We further argue that leopards may select smaller-sized prey than predicted by optimal foraging theory, to balance trade-offs between kleptoparasitic losses and the energetic gains derived from killing larger prey. Although caching may provide the added benefits of delaying food perishability and enabling consumption over an extended period, the behaviour primarily appears to be a strategy for leopards, and possibly other short-term cachers, to reduce the risks of kleptoparasitism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guy A Balme
- Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, New York, NY, 10018, USA.,Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa
| | - Jennifer R B Miller
- Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, New York, NY, 10018, USA.,Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa.,Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, 111 Fernow Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Ross T Pitman
- Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, New York, NY, 10018, USA
| | - Luke T B Hunter
- Panthera, 8 West 40th Street, New York, NY, 10018, USA.,School of Life Sciences, Westville Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 4000, South Africa
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Zhang H, Chu W, Zhang Z. Cultivated walnut trees showed earlier but not final advantage over its wild relatives in competing for seed dispersers. Integr Zool 2017; 12:12-25. [PMID: 27734599 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Little is known about seeding regeneration of cultivated trees compared to wild relatives in areas where seed dispersers are shared. Here, we investigated the differences in seed fates of cultivated walnut (Juglans regia) and wild Manchurian walnut (Juglans mandshurica) trees under rodent predation and dispersal. J. regia seeds have higher nutritional value (large size, mass and kernel mass) and lower mechanical defensiveness (thin endocarp) than J. mandshurica seeds. We tracked seeds of J. regia and J. mandshurica under both enclosure and field conditions to assess differences in competing for seed dispersers of the two co-occurring tree species of the same genus. We found that rodents preferred to harvest, eat and scatter-hoard seeds of J. regia as compared to those of J. mandshurica. Seeds of J. regia were removed and scatter-hoarded faster than those of J. mandshurica. Caches of J. regia were more likely to be rediscovered by rodents than those of J. mandshurica. These results suggest that J. regia showed earlier dispersal fitness but not the ultimate dispersal fitness over J. mandshurica in seeding regeneration under rodent mediation, implying that J. regia has little effect on seeding regeneration of J. mandshurica in the field. The effects of seed traits on seed dispersal fitness may vary at different dispersal stages under animal mediation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongmao Zhang
- Institute of Evolution and Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China.,State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Chu
- Institute of Evolution and Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhibin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Bleicher SS, Dickman CR. Bust economics: foragers choose high quality habitats in lean times. PeerJ 2016; 4:e1609. [PMID: 26839751 PMCID: PMC4734440 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.1609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2015] [Accepted: 12/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In environments where food resources are spatially variable and temporarily impoverished, consumers that encounter habitat patches with different food density should focus their foraging initially where food density is highest before they move to patches where food density is lower. Increasing missed opportunity costs should drive individuals progressively to patches with lower food density as resources in the initially high food density patches deplete. To test these expectations, we assessed the foraging decisions of two species of dasyurid marsupials (dunnarts: Sminthopsis hirtipes and S. youngsoni) during a deep drought, or bust period, in the Simpson Desert of central Australia. Dunnarts were allowed access to three patches containing different food densities using an interview chamber experiment. Both species exhibited clear preference for the high density over the lower food density patches as measured in total harvested resources. Similarly, when measuring the proportion of resources harvested within the patches, we observed a marginal preference for patches with initially high densities. Models analyzing behavioral choices at the population level found no differences in behavior between the two species, but models analyzing choices at the individual level uncovered some variation. We conclude that dunnarts can distinguish between habitat patches with different densities of food and preferentially exploit the most valuable. As our observations were made during bust conditions, experiments should be repeated during boom times to assess the foraging economics of dunnarts when environmental resources are high.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonny S. Bleicher
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Felidae Conservation Fund, Mill Valley, CA, USA
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Yu F, Shi X, Wei K, Wang D. Leaf litter affects the survival and predation rates for large and small Pinus seeds in the Qinling Mountains, China. Isr J Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/15659801.2016.1176689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
It is generally accepted that leaf litter covers seeds, which may be beneficial for their survival, but it is unclear whether leaf litter contributes in different ways to the survival of plant seeds with contrasting sizes. In this study, we examined the effect of different levels of leaf litter coverage on seed predation and foraging/caching for small-seeded Pinus tabulaeformis and large-seeded Pinus armandii in the Qinling Mountains, China. Our results showed that leaf litter failed to protect P. armandii seeds from being removed by small rodents, whereas it improved seed survival for P. tabulaeformis. P. tabulaeformis were eaten in situ, whereas more P. armandii seeds were eaten in the high leaf litter coverage plots. Therefore, we propose that leaf litter affects the survival and predation rates for large and small Pinus seeds in the Qinling Mountains, China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Yu
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University
- Northwest A & F University, Yangling District
- Research Center for Zhongyuan Cultural Ecology, Henan Normal University
| | - Xiaoxiao Shi
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University
- Northwest A & F University, Yangling District
| | - Kailu Wei
- College of Life Sciences, Henan Normal University
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9
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Wang Z, Cao L, Zhang Z. Seed traits and taxonomic relationships determine the occurrence of mutualisms versus seed predation in a tropical forest rodent and seed dispersal system. Integr Zool 2015; 9:309-19. [PMID: 24382317 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Although many studies have been carried out on plant-animal mutualistic assemblages, the roles of functional traits and taxonomy in determining both whether interactions involve mutualisms or predation and the structure of such assemblages are unclear. We used semi-natural enclosures to quantitatively assess the interaction strengths between seeds of 8 sympatric tree species and 4 rodent species in a tropical forest in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, Southwest China. We found 2 clusters of species in the seed-rodent network represented by 2 genera in the Fagaceae (Castanopsis, Lithocarpus). Compared to seeds of 3 Castanopsis species, seeds with heavy weight, hard coat or caloric content (including 3 Lithocarpus species) were eaten less and more frequently hoarded by rodents. In turn, hoarded seeds showed less predation and more mutualism with rodents. Our results suggest that seed traits significantly affected the hoarding behavior of rodents, and, consequently, the occurrence of mutualisms and predation as well as assemblage structure in the plant-animal seed dispersal system. Taxonomically-related species with similar seed traits as functional groups belong to the same substructures in the assemblage. Our results indicate that both seed traits and taxonomic relationships may simplify thinking about seed dispersal systems by helping to elucidate whether interactions are likely to be dominated by predation or mutualism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenyu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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10
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van der Merwe M, Brown JS, Kotler BP. Quantifying the future value of cacheable food using fox squirrels (sciurus niger). Isr J Ecol Evol 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/15659801.2014.907974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Food caching allows foraging decisions to include both present and future food value. We developed and tested a conceptual framework for measuring animals’ perceptions of future vs. present food value. Fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) are well-known caching animals in North America. We measured giving-up densities (GUDs) of fox squirrels to test the following hypotheses: (1) all else equal, animals should prefer cacheable to non-cacheable foods, and (2) the option value of a cacheable food should change seasonally and be highest preceding lean periods. We presented squirrels with experimental food patches containing either shelled hazelnuts, hazelnuts with their shells intact (to affect cacheability) or both kinds. Our data support both hypotheses. Squirrels exploited food patches with cacheable nuts more thoroughly and left them at lower GUDs. The squirrels’ perception of the future value of hazelnuts with their shells intact was found to be 32% higher than their present value. GUDs also varied by season, fall > spring >winter > summer, likely corresponding to food availability. Season and food cacheability interacted to further determine GUDs. The difference in GUDs between cacheable and non-cacheable nuts varied similarly: fall > spring > winter > summer, likely corresponding to changing food availability, reproductive opportunities and pending energetic shortfalls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marius van der Merwe
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago
- Biology Department, Dixie State University of Utah
| | - Joel S. Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago
| | - Burt P. Kotler
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
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11
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Sunyer P, Espelta JM, Bonal R, Muñoz A. Seeding phenology influences wood mouse seed choices: the overlooked role of timing in the foraging decisions by seed-dispersing rodents. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1731-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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12
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Sunyer P, Muñoz A, Bonal R, Espelta JM. The ecology of seed dispersal by small rodents: a role for predator and conspecific scents. Funct Ecol 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Pau Sunyer
- CREAF; Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193 Catalonia Spain
| | - Alberto Muñoz
- CREAF; Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193 Catalonia Spain
- Departamento de Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales; Facultad de Educación; Universidad Complutense de Madrid; c/ Rector Royo Villanueva, s/n 28040 Madrid Spain
| | - Raúl Bonal
- CREAF; Cerdanyola del Vallès 08193 Catalonia Spain
- Grupo DITEG Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales (ICAM); Área Zoología; Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha; 45071 Toledo Spain
- Departamento de Ecología; Grupo de la Biodiversidad Genética y Cultural; Instituto de Recursos Cinegéticos (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM); Ronda de Toledo, s/n 13071 Ciudad Real Spain
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