Variation in seed production schedule among individual trees of a deciduous oak species Quercus serrata: its relation to seed characteristics

Takahashi, Akiko; Shibata, Mitsue; Shimada, Takuya

doi:10.1007/s11258-011-9928-9

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…sylvestris individuals that ripened fruit earlier were favoured in 1 of 2 years (Alcántara et al 1997), while O. tenera trees ripening fruits earlier had greater and more rapid fruit removal than late-ripening trees (Wheelwright 1993). In Q. serrata , acorns produced later in the season were larger with lower tannin concentrations, making them more valuable food items (Takahashi et al 2011). Phenological variation potentially affects dispersal quality as well.…”

Section: Intrinsic Variation: Plant Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal are diverse and pervasive

et al. 2019

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There is growing realization that intraspecific variation in seed dispersal can have important ecological and evolutionary consequences. However, we do not have a good understanding of the drivers or causes of intraspecific variation in dispersal, how strong an effect these drivers have, and how widespread they are across dispersal modes. As a first step to developing a better understanding, we present a broad, but not exhaustive, review of what is known about the drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal, and what remains uncertain. We start by decomposing ‘drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal’ into intrinsic drivers (i.e. variation in traits of individual plants) and extrinsic drivers (i.e. variation in ecological context). For intrinsic traits, we further decompose intraspecific variation into variation among individuals and variation of trait values within individuals. We then review our understanding of the major intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal, with an emphasis on variation among individuals. Crop size is the best-supported and best-understood intrinsic driver of variation across dispersal modes; overall, more seeds are dispersed as more seeds are produced, even in cases where per seed dispersal rates decline. Fruit/seed size is the second most widely studied intrinsic driver, and is also relevant to a broad range of seed dispersal modes. Remaining intrinsic drivers are poorly understood, and range from effects that are probably widespread, such as plant height, to drivers that are most likely sporadic, such as fruit or seed colour polymorphism. Primary extrinsic drivers of variation in seed dispersal include local environmental conditions and habitat structure. Finally, we present a selection of outstanding questions as a starting point to advance our understanding of individual variation in seed dispersal.

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Section: Intrinsic Variation: Plant Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal are diverse and pervasive

et al. 2019

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“…Within-plant variation in seed weight has been documented in a number of species from various taxonomic groups (Winn 1991;Simons & Johnston 2000;Castellanos, Medrano & Herrera 2008;Takahashi, Shibata & Shimada 2011). From a review of 86 species by Herrera (2009), within-plant variance in seed weight ranged from 8Á1% to 39Á2%.…”

Section: W I T H I N -P L a N T V A R I A T I O N I N S E E D T R A Imentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seed characteristics, including weight (Winn ; Vaughton & Ramsey ; Castellanos, Medrano & Herrera ) and tannin content (Takahashi, Shibata & Shimada ), vary largely within species and individual plants. These and other characteristics have a significant influence on the preferences of seed consumers (Gómez ; Moles & Westoby ; Manzaneda, Rey & Alcántara ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of within‐plant variability in seed weight and tannin content on foraging behaviour of seed consumers

et al. 2015

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Summary Individual plants provide a habitat patch for foragers where the sought‐after resources (e.g. leaves, fruits and seeds) are clustered in locally dense aggregations. Characteristics of these resources often vary greatly even within individual plants, which is known as within‐plant or subindividual variation. To best describe properties of the patch (individual plants), the higher moments of trait‐value distributions must be included in addition to the mean values. However, the question whether differences in within‐plant variability of a given trait influence the foraging behaviours of consumers has been mostly untested. To test the hypothesis that differences in within‐plant variation of traits can influence the patch selection behaviour of seed consumers, we used the mean, coefficient of variation (CV) and skewness of within‐plant distributions of two Quercus serrata (Thunb) seed traits (weight and tannin content) as descriptors of plant phenotypes. We then examined the relationships between these descriptors and patch selection by the wood mouse Apodemus speciosus, where individual Quercus trees formed a foraging patch for seed removal. We collected 8594 seeds from 26 individual trees in a forest in northern Japan. We then measured their weight and tannin content, marked and returned them to the locations where they were found, and traced their fates in relation to seed removal by the wood mouse. Tannin content was nondestructively estimated using near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). There was notable within‐plant variation in seed weight and tannin content. Generalized additive modelling revealed that trees with a large mean and CV of seed weight and those with a small CV and skewness of tannin content had a high frequency of seed removal. These results highlight the importance of considering the within‐plant distribution of seed trait values, in addition to the mean trait values of individual seeds, when describing plant phenotypes. The inclusion of these data is essential to understand the ecological and evolutionary processes at work in plant–animal interactions.

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“…Seed size is an important feature that influences plant fitness (Harper, 1977;Dalling & Hubbell, 2002), but it may be influenced by the environment (Willan, 1985;Takahashi et al, 2011). We found different evolutionary strategies present in the sexual regeneration of species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…Two oak species have sexual reproduction only, Quercus grisea and Q. resinosa, where the large seed size has the highest percentage of germination, survived and grew. Large seeds confer evolutionary advantages by allowing larger cotyledons and rapid movement of its reserves (Branco et al, 2002), increased drought resistance (Takahashi et al, 2011) and increased germination and seedling development (Navarro et al, 2006;Quero et al, 2007). These two species inhabit dry, open forests with little mulch on the ground; hence their seeds are exposed to rapid drying.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restoration-Focused Germination and Development of Five Central Mexican Oak Species

Alfonso-Corrado¹,

Eduardo²,

Mendoza³

et al. 2014

OJF

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In the genus Quercus, regeneration by seed is reduced or absent in many species. The naturally protected area of the Sierra Fria, in Aguascalientes, Mexico contains forests that are fragmented and have been degraded due to human activities. The oak populations in this region demonstrate a very restricted sexual regeneration, with five of the most abundant species of this genus: Quercuseduardii, Q. grisea, Q. potosina, Q. resinosa and Q. sideroxyla presenting low seedling recruitment. In this study we evaluated seed viability and the effect of seed size on the germination, growth and survival of the trees, with the aim of recommending restoration and conservation program management actions for these oak species. In 2005 and 2006, 5000 acorns of each species were collected and viability, germination and growth experiments were performed in the laboratory and greenhouse. We found high seed viability and significant size effect (P < 0.05) on levels of germination, growth and survival of these five species of oaks. Our results suggest that environmental and ecological factors have implications for the quality of the seeds produced. This work provides a basis for low cost seed and appropriate management strategies for restoration programs.

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Variation in seed production schedule among individual trees of a deciduous oak species Quercus serrata: its relation to seed characteristics

Cited by 11 publications

References 41 publications

Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal are diverse and pervasive

Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal are diverse and pervasive

Effects of within‐plant variability in seed weight and tannin content on foraging behaviour of seed consumers

Restoration-Focused Germination and Development of Five Central Mexican Oak Species

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