Seed dispersal patterns in a temperate forest during a mast event: performance of alternative dispersal kernels

Frugivores play differing roles in shaping dispersal patterns yet seed dispersal distance is rarely quantified across entire communities. We model seed dispersal distance using gut passage times and bird movement for the majority (39 interactions) of known bird–tree interactions on the island of Saipan to highlight differences in seed dispersal distances provided by the five avian frugivores. One bird species was found to be a seed predator rather than a disperser. The remaining four avian species dispersed seeds but differences in seed dispersal distance were largely driven by interspecific variation in bird movement rather than intraspecific variation in gut passage times. The median dispersal distance was at least 56 m for all species-specific combinations, indicating all species play a role in reducing high seed mortality under the parent tree. However, one species—the Micronesian Starling—performed 94% of dispersal events greater than 500 m, suggesting this species could be a key driver of long-distance dispersal services (e.g. linking populations, colonizing new areas). Assessing variation in dispersal patterns across this network highlights key sources of variation in seed dispersal distances and suggests which empirical approaches are sufficient for modelling how seed dispersal mutualisms affect populations and communities.

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Similarity between seed rain and neighbouring mature tree communities in an old-growth temperate forest

Journal of Forestry Research ◽

10.1007/s11676-019-01027-3 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 (6) ◽

pp. 2435-2444

Author(s):

Yunyun Wang ◽

Jalene M. LaMontagne ◽

Fei Lin ◽

Zuoqiang Yuan ◽

Ji Ye ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seed Dispersal ◽

Temperate Forest ◽

Community Dynamics ◽

Basal Area ◽

Seed Rain ◽

Mature Trees ◽

Data Set ◽

Deposition Patterns ◽

Tree Communities ◽

Tree Traits

Abstract Seed distribution and deposition patterns around parent trees are strongly affected by functional traits and therefore influence the development of plant communities. To assess the limitations of seed dispersal and the extent to which diaspore and neighbouring parental traits explain seed rain, we used a 9-year seed data set based on 150 seed traps in a 25-ha area of a temperate forest in the Changbai Mountain. Among 480,598 seeds belonging to 12 families, 17 genera, and 26 species were identified, only 54% of the species with mature trees in the community were represented in seeds collected over the 9 years, indicating a limitation in seed dispersal. Understory species were most limited; overstory species were least limited. Species with wind-dispersed seed had the least limitation, while the lowest similarity in species richness was for animal-dispersed species followed by gravity-dispersed species; fleshy-fruited species had stronger dispersal limitations than dry-fruited species. Generalized linear mixed models showed that relative basal area had a significant positive effect on seed abundance in traps, while the contribution of diaspore traits was low for nearly all groups. These results suggest that tree traits had the strongest contribution to seed dispersal and deposition for all functional groups examined here. These findings strengthen the knowledge that tree traits are key in explaining seed deposition patterns, at least at the primary dispersal stage. This improved knowledge of sources of seeds that are dispersed could facilitate greater understanding of seedling and community dynamics in temperate forests.

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Differential seed dispersal patterns generated by a common assemblage of vertebrate frugivores in three fleshy-fruited trees

Ecoscience ◽

10.2980/15-2-3096 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 189-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 59

Author(s):

Isabel Martínez ◽

Daniel García ◽

José Ramón Obeso

Keyword(s):

Seed Dispersal ◽

Dispersal Patterns

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Bird functional traits affect seed dispersal patterns of China’s endangered trees across different disturbed habitats

Avian Research ◽

10.1186/s40657-018-0105-x ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ning Li ◽

Zheng Wang ◽

Xinhai Li ◽

Zhaohui Li

Keyword(s):

Seed Dispersal ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Dispersal Patterns ◽

Disturbed Habitats

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Landscape structure shapes carnivore-mediated seed dispersal kernels

Landscape Ecology ◽

10.1007/s10980-015-0283-4 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 731-743 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

José M. Herrera ◽

Isa de Sá Teixeira ◽

Javier Rodríguez-Pérez ◽

António Mira

Keyword(s):

Seed Dispersal ◽

Landscape Structure ◽

Dispersal Kernels

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Spatial patterns of primary seed dispersal and adult tree distributions: Genipa americana dispersed by Cebus capucinus

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467415000413 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 31 (6) ◽

pp. 491-498 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Kim Valenta ◽

Mariah E. Hopkins ◽

Melanie Meeking ◽

Colin A. Chapman ◽

Linda M. Fedigan

Keyword(s):

Seed Dispersal ◽

Spatial Patterns ◽

Cebus Capucinus ◽

Spatial Distributions ◽

Dispersal Patterns ◽

Seed Shadow ◽

Adult Trees ◽

Adult Tree ◽

Tree Distributions ◽

Primary Dispersal

Abstract:The spatial distribution of adult trees is typically not expected to reflect the spatial patterns of primary seed dispersal, due to many factors influencing post-dispersal modification of the seed shadow, such as seed predation, secondary seed dispersal and density-dependent survival. Here, we test the hypothesis that spatial distributions of primary seed shadows and adult trees are concordant by analysing the spatial distributions of adult Genipa americana trees and the seed shadow produced by its key primary disperser, the capuchin monkey (Cebus capucinus) in a tropical dry forest in Costa Rica. We mapped the dispersal of G. americana seeds by the capuchins during focal animal follows (mean = 463 min, n = 50) of all adults in one free-ranging group over two early wet seasons (May–July, 2005 and 2006). We mapped the locations of all G. americana trees within a 60-ha plot that lay within the home range of the capuchin group. We conducted multiple spatial point pattern analyses comparing degrees of clustering of capuchin defecations and G. americana trees. We found that adult tree distributions and primary dispersal patterns are similarly aggregated at multiple spatial scales, despite the modification of the primary dispersal patterns and long dispersal distances.

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PATTERNS OF SEED DISPERSAL SYNDROMES AT DIFFERENT ALTITUDES IN THE SEMIARID REGION

FLORESTA ◽

10.5380/rf.v50i4.64832 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 1751

Author(s):

Wedson Batista dos Santos ◽

Luiz Carlos Marangon ◽

Fernando José Freire ◽

Rafael Leite Braz ◽

José Edson De Lima Torres ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seed Dispersal ◽

Woody Plants ◽

Semiarid Region ◽

Forest Fragments ◽

Sampling Area ◽

Dispersal Patterns ◽

Breast Height ◽

Dispersal Syndromes ◽

Seed Dispersal Syndromes ◽

Altitude Level

The objective of this study was to assess the patterns of seed dispersal syndromes of woody plants from nine forest fragments distributed at different altitude levels on the Araripe plateau, in Pernambuco, Brazil. For data collection, we divided the altitudes within the region into three categories: lower level (altitudes ≤600 m); intermediate level (600< altitudes <750 m); and higher level (altitudes ≥750 m). We registered nine fragments, three per altitude level. In each of them, we distributed 20 rectangular sampling units with 250 m², totaling a sampling area of 4.5 ha. We quantified, collected, and identified woody plants with a diameter at breast height higher than or equal to 0.1 m (DBH 1.30 m ≥0.10 m). We characterized the dispersal syndrome according to the characteristics of the fruits and seeds and based on a literature review. In the whole region, we sampled 6,987 individuals, distributed in 35 families, 82 genera, and 153 species. Approximately 41% of all individuals are dispersed by animals, 37% by the plant’s own mechanisms, and 21% by the wind. In terms of dispersal, 47% of species were classified as zoochorous, 23% as autochorous, and 14% as anemochorous. Seed dispersal patterns vary according to altitude levels, with higher regions tending to present greater representativeness of biotic dispersers and lower ones, abiotic.

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