Evidence of capacity for water dispersal in Acer saccharum

Abstract

Dispersal is a critical stage in the life cycle of plants, allowing for movement to new areas and the finding of suitable habitat. Propagules can disperse via wind, water, animals, and botanical mechanisms. Acer saccharum is not known as a water‐dispersed species, but an observation of a floating fruit led to the question of whether its seeds can survive inundation. To assess this possibility, fruits were soaked in stream water for 0–28 d and stratified for germination. Flow rate data were collected from waterways in the vicinity of the observed floating fruit. Seeds successfully germinated if soaked in stream water for 0–7 d, and over 40% of inundated seeds floated. Based on flow rates, seeds of A. saccharum can potentially disperse for at least 250 km via flowing water. With north‐flowing rivers at the current northern range limit for A. saccharum, water dispersal represents an important opportunity for range shift in the face of climate change. South‐flowing rivers offer the opportunity for gene flow and seeking available habitat. New questions relate to identifying other species with undocumented capacity for water dispersal, and how such water dispersal will affect community reassembly linked to range shifts resulting from climate change.

Protection against insect predation during fruit development: the role of fleshy fruit wings of three species of Zygophyllum in the cold desert of Central Asia

“…Fruit wings are a common type of fruit appendage, and previous studies have primarily focused on their role in improving seed dispersal by wind ( Wang and Wei, 2007 ; Yu et al., 2009 ) and water ( Planchuelo et al., 2016 ; Tessier, 2019 ). In addition, several studies have explored their potential to inhibit seed germination through constitutive features ( Wei et al., 2008 ; Yu et al., 2009 ) or the presence of specific natural chemicals ( El-Keblawy et al., 2014 ; Bhatt et al., 2017 ).…”