Effects of seed size on dispersal distance in five rodent-dispersed fagaceous species

Xiao, Zhishu; Zhang, Zhibin; Wang, Yushan

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2005.04.006

Cited by 153 publications

(125 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…fat or tannin content) can alter this general pattern (Xiao & Zhang 2006;see below). Larger nuts and seeds are usually carried greater distances to cache sites (Hallwachs 1986;Vander Wall 1995;Jansen et al 2002Jansen et al , 2004Xiao et al 2004Xiao et al , 2005aTakahashi et al 2007;Zhang et al 2008); however, a few studies (Brewer 2001;Xiao et al 2004) have failed to observe this behaviour. Large nuts also have longer residence times in caches ( Jansen et al 2002), and large nuts often demonstrate increased fitness ( Jansen et al 2004).…”

Section: Size and Nutritional Content Of Propagulesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How plants manipulate the scatter-hoarding behaviour of seed-dispersing animals

Wall

2010

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

250

257

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Some plants that are dispersed by scatter-hoarding animals appear to have evolved the ability to manipulate the behaviour of those animals to increase the likelihood that seeds and nuts will be stored and that a portion of those items will not be recovered. Plants have achieved this in at least four ways. First, by producing large, nutritious seeds and nuts that are attractive to animals and that stimulate hoarding behaviour. Second, by imposing handling costs that cause animals to hoard rather than to eat items immediately. These handling costs can take one of two forms: physical barriers (e.g. hard seed coats) that take time to remove and secondary chemicals (e.g. tannins) that impose metabolic costs. Third, by masting, where a population of plants synchronizes reproductive effort, producing large nut crops at intervals of several years. Mast crops not only satiate seed predators, but also increase the amount of seed dispersal because scatter-hoarding animals are not easily satiated during caching (causing animals to store more food than they can consume) but are satiated during cache recovery. And fourth, by producing seeds that do not emit strong odours so that buried seeds are less likely to be discovered. These, and perhaps other, traits have increased the relative success of plant species with seeds dispersed by scatter-hoarding animals.

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Section: Size and Nutritional Content Of Propagulesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How plants manipulate the scatter-hoarding behaviour of seed-dispersing animals

Wall

2010

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

250

257

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“…Seed size was often found positively related to dispersal distance (Vander Wall 1995, Xiao et al 2005, Moore et al 2007. However, Theimer (2003) found no relations between seed size and dispersal distance in Beilschmiedia bancroftii.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many studies have shown similar positive relationships between seed size and rodent preferences during their scatterhoarding processes (Vander Wall 1990, Forget et al 1998, Jansen et al 2004, Xiao et al 2005, Moore et al 2007, Vander Wall 2010. However, for the largest seeded species in our study (L. xylocarpus) smaller seeds were preferably harvested and removed from the seed release plots.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to some studies, rodents preferred to remove larger seeds rather than eat them in situ (Forget et al 1998, Vander Wall 2003, Jansen et al 2004, while others showed that medium-sized seeds would be removed away more frequently than both large or small ones (Theimer 2003, Wang & Yang 2014. Seed size is usually found to be positively correlated to the transportation distance by rodents (Xiao et al 2005, Moore et al 2007, Takahashi et al 2007, while several other studies found a parabolic relationship between seed size and dispersal distance, i.e., medium-sized seeds would be transported to farther distances than both large and small seeds (Jansen et al 2002, Wang & Yang 2014.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seed size is usually believed to be an essential factor that can affect the decision-making process of rodents (Vander Wall 1990, Jansen et al 2004, Xiao et al 2005, Moore et al 2007, Wang & Chen 2009, Rusch et al 2013, Wang & Yang 2014. Generally, larger seeds have a higher energy content compared to smaller ones, therefore are usually preferred by rodents (Smith & Reichman 1984, Vander Wall 1990, Jansen et al 2004, Wang & Chen 2009, Vander Wall 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effect of seed size on seed fate in a subtropical forest, southwest of China

Lang¹,

Wang²

2016

iForest

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Scatter-hoarding rodents acting both as seed predators and dispersers usually play an important role in seed dispersal of many plant species. Seed size is thought to essentially affect rodent scatter-hoarding processes. However, studies to date have frequently shown many controversial results regarding the effect of seed size on rodent foraging. In this study, we explored how seed size affects scatter-hoarding rodent foraging preferences in order to identify the possible reasons underlying the conflicting results reported in the scientific literature. We surveyed rodent seed predation and dispersal of five common tree species in a natural subtropical forest located in southwestern China along two seasons which were different in both seed abundances and rodent communities. Our results showed that a similar effect of seed size on rodent scatter-hoarding behavior existed in both seasons, although the seeds in spring were harvested more quickly than in autumn. Larger seeds of the small-seeded species (Castanopsis wattii, Lithocarpus hancei, Machilns yunnanensis and Lithocarpus pachyphyllus) were harvested, removed, and finally cached by the rodents more frequently. For the largest-seeded species (Lithocarpus xylocarpus), seeds with smaller size were preferred during the rodent scatterhoarding processes. Our findings support the hypothesis that scatter-hoarding rodents preferably feed on large seeds at early stage of seed dispersal, but only up to a certain threshold of seed size.

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Pooled whole‐genome sequencing of interspecific chestnut (Castanea) hybrids reveals loci associated with differences in caching behavior of fox squirrels (Sciurus niger L.)

LaBonte

Woeste

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Dispersal of seeds by scatter‐hoarding rodents is common among tropical and temperate tree species, including chestnuts in the genus Castanea. Backcrossed (BC) interspecific hybrid chestnuts exhibit wide variation in seed traits: as the parent species (Castanea dentata and C. mollissima) have distinct seed phenotypes and tend to be handled differently by seed dispersers, phenotypic variation in BC trees is likely due to inheritance of genes that have undergone divergent evolution in the parent species. To identify candidate genomic regions for interspecific differences in seed dispersal, we used tagged seeds to measure average dispersal distance for seeds of third‐generation BC chestnuts and sequenced pooled whole genomes of mother trees with contrasting seed dispersal: high caching rate/long distance; low caching rate/short distance; no caching. Candidate regions affecting seed dispersal were identified as loci with more C. mollissima alleles in the high caching rate/ long‐distance pool than expected by chance and observed in the other two pools. Functional annotations of candidate regions included predicted lipid metabolism, dormancy regulation, seed development, and carbohydrate metabolism genes. The results support the hypothesis that perception of seed dormancy is a predominant factor in squirrel caching decisions, and also indicate profitable directions for future work on the evolutionary genomics of trees and coevolved seed dispersers.

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Effects of seed size on dispersal distance in five rodent-dispersed fagaceous species

Cited by 153 publications

References 45 publications

How plants manipulate the scatter-hoarding behaviour of seed-dispersing animals

How plants manipulate the scatter-hoarding behaviour of seed-dispersing animals

The effect of seed size on seed fate in a subtropical forest, southwest of China

Pooled whole‐genome sequencing of interspecific chestnut (Castanea) hybrids reveals loci associated with differences in caching behavior of fox squirrels (Sciurus niger L.)

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