Rodents influence plant establishment and regeneration by functioning as both seed predators and dispersers.However,these rodent-plant interactions can vary significantly due to various environmental conditions and th...Rodents influence plant establishment and regeneration by functioning as both seed predators and dispersers.However,these rodent-plant interactions can vary significantly due to various environmental conditions and the activity of other insect seed predators.Here,we use a combination of both field and enclosure(i.e.individual cage and semi-natural enclosure)experiments,to determine whether rodents can distinguish sound seeds from those infested with insects.We also demonstrate how such responses to insects are influenced by food abun-dance and other environmental factors.We presented rodents with 2 kinds of Quercus aliena seeds(sound and insect-infested seeds)in a subtropical forest in the Qinling Mountains,central China,from September to No-vember of 2011 to 2013.The results showed that rodents preferred to hoard and eat sound seeds than infested seeds in the field and semi-natural enclosure,while they preferred to eat infested seeds over sound seeds in the individual cages.In addition,both hoarding and eating decisions were influenced by food abundance.Rodents hoarded more sound seeds in years of high food abundance while they consumed more acorns in years of food shortage.Compared with field results,rodents reduced scatter-hoarding behavior in semi-natural enclosures and ate more insect-infested seeds in smaller individual cages.These results further confirm that rodents distinguish infested seeds from non-infested seeds but demonstrate that this behavior varies with conditions(i.e.environ-ment and food abundance).We suggest that such interactions will influence the dispersal and natural regenera-tion of seeds as well as predation rates on insect larvae.展开更多
Animal-mediated seed dispersal is an important ecological process in which a strong mutualism between animals and plants can arise.However,few studies have examined how a community of potential seed dispersers interac...Animal-mediated seed dispersal is an important ecological process in which a strong mutualism between animals and plants can arise.However,few studies have examined how a community of potential seed dispersers interacts with sympatric seed trees.We employed a series of experiments in the Qinling Mountains in both semi-natural enclosure and the field to assess the interactions among 3 sympatric rodent species and 3 Fagaceae tree seeds.Seed traits all showed similar tannin levels but markedly different physical traits and nutritional contents.We found that seeds with heavy weight,thick coat,and high nutritional contents were less likely to be eaten in situ but more often to be eaten after dispersal or hoarded by rodents.These results support both the handling time hypothesis and the high nutrition hypothesis.Surprisingly,we also found that rodents,maybe,preferred to consume seeds with low levels of crude fiber in situ,and to harvest and hoard those with high levels of crude fiber for later consumption.The sympatric rodent species,Cansumys canus,the largest rodent in our study,harvested and hoarded more Quercus variabilis seeds with high physical and nutritional traits,while Apodemus draco,the smallest rodent,harvested more Q.serrata seeds with low physical and nutritional traits,and Niviventer confucianus harvested and hoarded more Q.aliena seeds with medium physical and nutritional traits.Our study demonstrates that different seed traits play different roles in influencing the seed fate and the shaping of mutualism and predation interactions within a community of rodent species.展开更多
基金the Science and Technology Research Program of Shaanxi Academy of Science(2014K-38)Shaanxi key research and development program(2018NY-135)Major Science Project of Shaanxi Academy of Science(2018K-04).
文摘Rodents influence plant establishment and regeneration by functioning as both seed predators and dispersers.However,these rodent-plant interactions can vary significantly due to various environmental conditions and the activity of other insect seed predators.Here,we use a combination of both field and enclosure(i.e.individual cage and semi-natural enclosure)experiments,to determine whether rodents can distinguish sound seeds from those infested with insects.We also demonstrate how such responses to insects are influenced by food abun-dance and other environmental factors.We presented rodents with 2 kinds of Quercus aliena seeds(sound and insect-infested seeds)in a subtropical forest in the Qinling Mountains,central China,from September to No-vember of 2011 to 2013.The results showed that rodents preferred to hoard and eat sound seeds than infested seeds in the field and semi-natural enclosure,while they preferred to eat infested seeds over sound seeds in the individual cages.In addition,both hoarding and eating decisions were influenced by food abundance.Rodents hoarded more sound seeds in years of high food abundance while they consumed more acorns in years of food shortage.Compared with field results,rodents reduced scatter-hoarding behavior in semi-natural enclosures and ate more insect-infested seeds in smaller individual cages.These results further confirm that rodents distinguish infested seeds from non-infested seeds but demonstrate that this behavior varies with conditions(i.e.environ-ment and food abundance).We suggest that such interactions will influence the dispersal and natural regenera-tion of seeds as well as predation rates on insect larvae.
基金Funds were provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32172436,31901085,31100283)the Shaanxi Natural Science Foundation(2021JQ-841)+3 种基金the Shaanxi Key Research and Development Program(2021NY-042)the Science and Technology Program of Shaanxi Academy of Sciences(2018K-04,2020K-21)the Science and Technology Innovation Program of Shaanxi Academy of Forestry(SXLK2020-0209)the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program(STEP,2019QZKK0501).
文摘Animal-mediated seed dispersal is an important ecological process in which a strong mutualism between animals and plants can arise.However,few studies have examined how a community of potential seed dispersers interacts with sympatric seed trees.We employed a series of experiments in the Qinling Mountains in both semi-natural enclosure and the field to assess the interactions among 3 sympatric rodent species and 3 Fagaceae tree seeds.Seed traits all showed similar tannin levels but markedly different physical traits and nutritional contents.We found that seeds with heavy weight,thick coat,and high nutritional contents were less likely to be eaten in situ but more often to be eaten after dispersal or hoarded by rodents.These results support both the handling time hypothesis and the high nutrition hypothesis.Surprisingly,we also found that rodents,maybe,preferred to consume seeds with low levels of crude fiber in situ,and to harvest and hoard those with high levels of crude fiber for later consumption.The sympatric rodent species,Cansumys canus,the largest rodent in our study,harvested and hoarded more Quercus variabilis seeds with high physical and nutritional traits,while Apodemus draco,the smallest rodent,harvested more Q.serrata seeds with low physical and nutritional traits,and Niviventer confucianus harvested and hoarded more Q.aliena seeds with medium physical and nutritional traits.Our study demonstrates that different seed traits play different roles in influencing the seed fate and the shaping of mutualism and predation interactions within a community of rodent species.
