Germination response of Lithraea molleoides seeds is similar after passage through the guts of several avian and a single mammalian disperser

Botany ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (7) ◽  
pp. 485-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Vergara-Tabares ◽  
Juan I. Whitworth-Hulse ◽  
Guillermo Funes

Seed dispersal by vertebrate frugivores plays an important role in plant population dynamics and community structure. The gut treatment may modify the germination response of seeds; often the specific effects of seed ingestion are not consistent among frugivorous taxa. In the Chaco mountain woodlands of Argentina, an ecosystem threatened by human activities, frugivorous birds enhance the seed germination of the most abundant fleshy-fruited plants. However, the effect of the identity of dispersers on seed germination remains unknown. In this work, we evaluated and compared the seed germination response of Lithraea molleoides (Vell.) Engl. (the dominant tree of the region) to gut passage through three Turdus species and the Pampa Fox (Lycalopex gimnocercus). Owing to anatomical differences between the Turdus species and Pampa Fox, we expected to observe higher seed germination in the seeds treated by the gut of Turdus species compared with those that have passed through the Pampa Fox’s gut. Our results showed that germination response of L. molleoides seeds was positively related to gut passage through Turdus species and Pampa Foxes (without differences among seed dispersers). Consequently, both the avian species and the Pampa Fox contribute positively to the dispersal and germination of L. molleoides seeds.

Botany ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 493-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Celeste Díaz Vélez ◽  
Ana Elisa Ferreras ◽  
Wesley Rodrigues Silva ◽  
Leonardo Galetto

Frugivorous birds are key dispersal agents of many plant species and also may facilitate seed germination after gut passage. However, the general effects of gut passage on seed germination are still not clear, with positive, negative, and neutral effects reported on seed germination. We evaluated seed germination of seven bird-dispersed plant species of the Chaco Serrano Woodland in Córdoba, Argentina: Celtis ehrenbergiana (Klotzsch) Liebm., Condalia spp. Cav., Lantana camara L., Lithraea molleoides (Vell.) Engl., Lycium cestroides Schltdl., Schinus fasciculatus (Griseb.) I.M. Johnst., and Zanthoxylum coco Gillies. We compared germination percentages and germination speed among seeds ingested by birds, manually extracted seeds, and seeds from intact fruits to understand which mechanisms are acting on bird gut-passed seeds. For six plant species, the action of frugivorous birds increased seed germination percentages and germination speed, through scarification, deinhibition, or combined mechanisms. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms acting on seeds passed through bird gut. Also, we show the pivotal role that frugivorous birds exert on the seed germination of native woody plant species in the threatened ecosystem of the Chaco Serrano Woodland.


2021 ◽  
Vol 281 ◽  
pp. 109987
Author(s):  
Naeimeh Sousaraei ◽  
Benjamin Torabi ◽  
Kambiz Mashaiekhi ◽  
Elias Soltani ◽  
Seyyed Javad Mousavizadeh

age ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Hunt Walne ◽  
Annabeth Gaudin ◽  
W. Brien Henry ◽  
Kambham Raja Reddy

PLoS ONE ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. e0209149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomáš Dostálek ◽  
Maan Bahadur Rokaya ◽  
Zuzana Münzbergová

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Ma

Satellite-based measurements of the artificial nighttime light brightness (NTL) have been extensively used for studying urbanization and socioeconomic dynamics in a temporally consistent and spatially explicit manner. The increasing availability of geo-located big data detailing human population dynamics provides a good opportunity to explore the association between anthropogenic nocturnal luminosity and corresponding human activities, especially at fine time/space scales. In this study, we used Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) day/night band (DNB)–derived nighttime light images and the gridded number of location requests (NLR) from China’s largest social media platform to investigate the quantitative relationship between nighttime light radiances and human population dynamics across China at four levels: the provincial, city, county, and pixel levels. Our results show that the linear relationship between the NTL and NLR might vary with the observation level and magnitude. The dispersion between the two variables likely increases with the observation scale, especially at the pixel level. The effect of spatial autocorrelation and other socioeconomic factors on the relationship should be taken into account for nighttime light-based measurements of human activities. Furthermore, the bivariate relationship between the NTL and NLR was employed to generate a partition of human settlements based on the combined features of nighttime lights and human population dynamics. Cross-regional comparisons of the partitioned results indicate a diverse co-distribution of the NTL and NLR across various types of human settlements, which could be related to the city size/form and urbanization level. Our findings may provide new insights into the multi-level responses of nighttime light signals to human activity and the potential application of nighttime light data in association with geo-located big data for investigating the spatial patterns of human settlement.


Author(s):  
Buya Azmedia Istiqlal ◽  
I Wayan Kasa ◽  
Deny Suhernawan Yusup

The diversity of intertidal invertebrates in Bali was believed to be affected by human activities, due to high rate of development in tourism industry. In order to reveal the real natural invertebrate diversity, it is necessary to investigate it at a kind of untouched beach of Bali. This study was perform by comparing invertebrate diversity (species richness, density, community structure) and human activity (Type, frequency) in Merta Segara Beach, as the beach with frequent human activities, and Nyangnyang Beach, as the beach with little human activities. Invertebrates sample were taken within intertidal zone using line transect-quadrate during low tide. Human activities were observed in the afternoon from March to April 2016. The result showed a significant different in density and community structure between both Merta Segara and Nyangnyang beach as the consequences of different substrate type of both beaches. Walking on substrate or trampling was believed to be the most influencing activity for invertebrate diversity, especially for Merta Segara Beach. Next, a thorough study must be performed to conclusively tie the human activity to the alteration of invertebrate diversity in a coastal area. The high diversity, density and abundance of intertidal invertebrate of Nyangnyang Beach has literally shown that how diverse the biodiversity could be if the beach were protected from overexploited by tourism visitation and activity.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document