scholarly journals The importance of individual movement and feeding behaviour for long-distance seed dispersal by red deer: a data-driven model

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Wright ◽  
Marco Heurich ◽  
Carsten M. Buchmann ◽  
Reinhard Böcker ◽  
Frank M. Schurr
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Vegetation Period ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Ample Evidence

Abstract Background Long-distance seed dispersal (LDD) has strong impacts on the spatiotemporal dynamics of plants. Large animals are important LDD vectors because they regularly transport seeds of many plant species over long distances. While there is now ample evidence that behaviour varies considerably between individual animals, it is not clear to what extent inter-individual variation in behaviour alters seed dispersal by animals. Methods We study how inter-individual variation in the movement and feeding behaviour of one of Europe’s largest herbivores (the red deer, Cervus elaphus) affects internal seed dispersal (endozoochory) of multiple plant species. We combine movement data of 21 individual deer with measurements of seed loads in the dung of the same individuals and with data on gut passage time. These data serve to parameterize a model of passive dispersal that predicts LDD in three orientations (horizontal as well as upward and downward in elevation). With this model we investigate to what extent per-seed probabilities of LDD and seed load vary between individuals and throughout the vegetation period (May–December). Subsequently, we test whether per-seed LDD probability and seed load are positively (or negatively) correlated so that more mobile animals disperse more (or less) seeds. Finally, we examine whether non-random associations between per-seed LDD probability and seed load affect the LDD of individual plant species. Results The studied deer dispersed viable seeds of at least 62 plant species. Deer individuals varied significantly in per-seed LDD probability and seed loads. However, more mobile animals did not disperse more or less seeds than less mobile ones. Plant species also did not differ significantly in the relationship between per-seed LDD probability and seed load. Yet plant species differed in how their seed load was distributed across deer individuals and in time, and this caused their LDD potential to differ more than twofold. For several plant species, we detected non-random associations between per-seed LDD probability and seed load that generally increased LDD potential. Conclusions Inter-individual variation in movement and feeding behaviour means that certain deer are substantially more effective LDD vectors than others. This inter-individual variation reduces the reliability of LDD and increases the sensitivity of LDD to the decline of deer populations. Variation in the dispersal services of individual animals should thus be taken into account in models in order to improve LDD projections.

scholarly journals Phytoindication approach to assessing factors determining the habitat preferences of red deer (Cervus elaphus)

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-206
Author(s):  
V. I. Domnich ◽  
A. V. Domnich ◽  
O. V. Zhukov
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
Fecal Pellets ◽  
Vegetation Class ◽  
Nutrients Availability

The study examined the possibility of using the phytoindication technique to describe habitat preferences of red deer in a relatively homogeneous area. Two alternative hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis 1 suggests that the relationship between red deer and vegetation is due to a trophic factor, so preferences for individual plant species cause vegetation to influence the distribution of animal numbers. Hypothesis 2 suggests that environmental factors influence vegetation, structuring and determining the productive level of the community as a whole. Therefore, environmental factors, rather than individual plant species, cause vegetation-animal interactions. The research was conducted on Biryuchiy Island Spit, where the Azov-Sivash National Nature Park is located. The geobotanical surveys were performed in three types of ecosystems: sandy steppe (vegetation class Festucetea vaginatae), saline meadows (vegetation class Festuco–Puccinellietea), and artificial forest plantation (vegetation class Robinietea). 250 releves were recorded according to the Brown-Blanquet approach. The number of fecal pellets and the number of groups of pellets of red deer was recorded together with geobotanical surveys in the same sample plots. The pellet groups counted in the field were converted to deer densities in specific vegetation classes taking into account the number of pellet groups on the site and the decay rate of the fecal pellets. The vegetation types were distinguished by the number of deer fecal pellets per unit area. The highest number of fecal pellets was found for the plant class Festucetea vaginatae, somewhat fewer fecal pellets were in the plant class Robinietea, and the lowest number was in the plant class Festuco-Puccinellietea. A geometric distribution model is adequate for explaining the experimental data on the number of fecal pellets. A total of 59 species of flowering plants were found. Based on the species composition and projective cover of species, the ecological regimes of ecotopes were identified by phytoindication. The correspondence analysis of the vegetation revealed two ordination axes. The ordination axis 1 (CA1) was able to explain 11.3% of community inertia, and the ordination axis 2 (CA2) was able to explain 5.2% of community inertia. The maximum excretory activity of animals was recorded for the central part of the ordination space, indicating the presence of an optimum zone in the gradient of environmental factors that structure plant communities. The forward selection procedure allowed the Nutrients Availability variable to be selected as the most important variable to explain variation in the plant community structure. The number of deer fecal pellets exhibited different patterns of response in the Nutrients Availability gradient. The response within the plant class Festucetea vaginatae could best be explained by Model III from the list of HOF-models. The response of the excretory activity of deer within the class Festuco-Puccinellietea could best be fitted by the model IV, which represents a symmetric Gaussian curve. The response of excretory activity in the Robinietea vegetation class was asymmetrical bimodal. The ecological properties of the red deer ecological niche in both the drier and less mineralized part of the range of ecological conditions and the wetter and more mineralized part should be assessed in the context of the prospects for future studies.

Endozoochorical plant seed dispersal by red deer (Cervus elaphus) in the Poľana Biosphere Reserve, Slovakia

2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Steyaert ◽  
J. Bokdam ◽  
W. Braakhekke ◽  
S. Findo
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
Plant Seed

Individual variation in migratory and exploratory movements and habitat use by adult red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) in a mountainous temperate forest

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1005-1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique Pépin ◽  
Christophe Adrados ◽  
Georges Janeau ◽  
Jean Joachim ◽  
Carole Mann
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Temperate Forest ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Exploratory Movements

Plant-wax alkanes as seasonal markers of red deer dietary components

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel N Bugalho ◽  
John A Milne ◽  
Robert W Mayes ◽  
Francisco C Rego
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Diet Composition ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Herbivore Faeces ◽  
Different Seasons ◽  
Dietary Component ◽  
Browse Species ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Herbage Layer

n-Alkanes are long-chain hydrocarbons commonly occurring in plant cuticles that can be recovered in herbivore faeces. Differences among plant species in their content of cuticular wax n-alkanes can be exploited to estimate diet composition of herbivores. n-Alkanes have been used mainly in domesticated herbivores feeding on relatively simple diets over short-term periods. Extending the method to wild herbivores feeding on seasonal complex diets is possible provided that n-alkanes act as effective dietary component markers in different seasons. The n-alkane content of browse species and herbage layer and of faeces of red deer (Cervus elaphus L., 1758) males and females in a region with a Mediterranean climate is described. Information on the n-alkane content of plant species was related to that of faeces to estimate the diet composition of red deer. Plant species had distinct n-alkane contents, some of which varied seasonally. The n-alkane content of faeces also varied seasonally and between red deer sexes. Both red deer males and females had relatively high proportion of browse in their diets during summer and of herbage layer in spring, as shown by other studies in Mediterranean environments.

Seed dispersal in red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) dung and its potential importance for vegetation dynamics in subalpine grasslands

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 505-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majid Iravani ◽  
Martin Schütz ◽  
Peter J. Edwards ◽  
Anita C. Risch ◽  
Christoph Scheidegger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Vegetation Dynamics ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Potential Importance ◽  
Subalpine Grasslands

scholarly journals Complementary endozoochorous seed dispersal by large mammals in the Golestan National Park, Iran

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 294-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sorour Karimi ◽  
Mahmoud-Reza Hemami ◽  
Mostafa Tarkesh Esfahani ◽  
Hossein Akhani ◽  
Christophe Baltzinger
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
National Park ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Capreolus Capreolus ◽  
Growth Forms ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Large Herbivores ◽  
Dispersal Vectors

AbstractLarge animals tend to disperse seeds over long distances via ingestion and defecation due to their large home range and capacity to move among different habitats for feeding. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of endozoochorous seed dispersal by five herbivores: Ovis vignei, Capra aegagrus, Gazella subgutturosa, Cervus elaphus, Capreolus capreolus and two omnivores: Sus Scrofa and Ursus arctos in the Golestan National Park, northeast of Iran, by a greenhouse germination experiment. A total of 3107 seedlings belonging to 154 different plant taxa were germinated from 655 dung samples collected in three different habitats. Plant families that most frequently germinated were Poaceae and Brassicaceae. Urtica dioica was the most abundant germinating seed, accounting for 20% of all the seedlings recorded in our dung samples, whereas the most frequently observed species was Portulaca oleracea, which occurred in 24% of our samples. We showed that 54% of the seeds germinating were dispersed by only one of the mammals studied. Herbs and graminoids were the most frequently dispersed growth forms by the herbivores and the wild boar, whereas brown bears mostly dispersed shrubs. The seedling composition in the dung samples was strongly correlated with the local flora especially for non-selective feeders, like red deer. The differences observed in the number of plants and frequency of different growth forms dispersed among the studied mammals reflect their body size, digestive physiology, and dietary and habitat preferences. Our findings highlight the different and complementary roles of large herbivores and omnivores as long-distance seed dispersal vectors.

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