Habitat-dependent seed dispersal of an introduced tree species by native rodents

Wróbel, Aleksandra; Zwolak, Rafał

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2018.11.036

Cited by 17 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Based on these previous findings we speculate that an individual's personality will affect the interaction with novel seeds; in particular, following Brehm et al () we predict that bolder and less anxious individuals will be more likely to interact with novel seeds. Further, Brehm et al () found that land‐use change shifts the distribution of personalities within a population, by increasing the proportion of bold, active and anxious individuals and in‐turn affecting the potential survival and dispersal of seeds. We thus speculate that small mammal controls on the climate‐driven range shift of woody plant species may be also mediated by land‐use change effects on the distribution of personalities within a population.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

“…months), allowing for the calculation of indices such as the seed dispersal effectiveness (Schupp et al ) and it would also be important to place each species on a predator–mutualist continuum (Zwolak and Crone ). Further, we recommend that future seed dispersal studies focusing on ‘novel’ seeds also consider the critical role played by rodent population density (Lichti et al ), the availability of seeds (Xiao et al ) as well as the important role of individual‐level factors such as personality (Brehm et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a recent work Brehm et al () found that an individual's personality affects its choice of seeds, as well as how distant and where seeds are cached. Based on these previous findings we speculate that an individual's personality will affect the interaction with novel seeds; in particular, following Brehm et al () we predict that bolder and less anxious individuals will be more likely to interact with novel seeds. Further, Brehm et al () found that land‐use change shifts the distribution of personalities within a population, by increasing the proportion of bold, active and anxious individuals and in‐turn affecting the potential survival and dispersal of seeds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Data are available from the Figshare Digital Repository: doi: 10.6084/m9.figshare.8938007 (Mortelliti et al ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Small mammal controls on the climate‐driven range shift of woody plant species

Mortelliti

Grentzmann

Fraver

et al. 2019

Oikos

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Climate change is resulting in shifts in species’ ranges as species inhabit new climatically suitable areas. A key factor affecting range‐shifts is the interaction with predators. Small mammals, being primary seed predators and dispersers in forest ecosystems, may play a major role in determining which plant species will successfully expand and the rate at which range‐shifts will occur. Plants dispersing seeds beyond the species’ current range limits will encounter seed predators to which these seeds are novel; however, empirical studies of seed predator–novel seed interactions are lacking. The aims of our study were to: 1) quantify seed selection by small mammals presented with ‘novel’ seeds; 2) quantify the post‐selection fate of ‘novel’ seeds; and 3) identify seed traits that affect seed selection and post‐selection seed fate. We designed a field experiment exposing small mammal communities to novel seeds produced by plants expected to shift their ranges in response to climate change. We matched novel seeds with reference ‘familiar’ seeds and studied key steps defining interactions between small mammals and novel seeds. We found that the probability of selection of a novel seed varied among species and was, at times, higher than the selection probability of familiar seeds. Key traits that affected seed selection and the distance a seed was dispersed for caching were shell hardness and seed mass. We also found that 33% of dispersed seeds were cached in optimal germination sites (e.g. within fallen logs and buried under the leaf litter mat). Through seed emergence trials we found that emergence was higher for larger seeds, suggesting that the role of small mammals may be modulated by emergence rates. Our results suggest that the interaction between small mammals and novel seeds may have cascading effects on climate‐induced plant range shifts and community composition.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%