The role of seed mass on the caching decision by agoutis, Dasyprocta leporina (Rodentia: Agoutidae)

Galetti, Mauro; Donatti, Camila I.; Steffler, Carla E.; Genini, Julieta; Bovendorp, Ricardo S.; Fleury, Marina

doi:10.1590/s1984-46702010000300022

Cited by 44 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Here, we found that as fruit size increased, so did the probability of it being harvested and hoarded. Similar results have been reported for fleshy-fruited species in the Atlantic forest of Brazil [18,19], for Carapa procera in French Guiana [10] and for rodent-dispersed Fagaceae in Southwest China [17] Rodent preferences for large fruits or seeds have been interpreted in terms of the optimal foraging theory because larger fruits and seeds offer higher nutritional rewards per foraging bout [20,21,50], thus they are more appealing to be consumed or stored as food [3,4,15] and water reserves [29]. Furthermore, given that M .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Size is one of the most important fruit and seed traits, and its relationship with rodent foraging behavior has been extensively studied [1,4,11,12,17,18] because the decision to manipulate a fruit and/or seed is one of the most important from both the rodent and plant perspectives; moreover, its effects cascade down the successive steps in the foraging and scatter-hoarding process, and ultimately can influence seed dispersal dynamics [13]. Here, we found that as fruit size increased, so did the probability of it being harvested and hoarded.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relationship between seed size and rodent foraging behavior has been widely documented; typically, studies report that rodents harvest and hoard the largest seeds [10,15,17,18,19]. These preferences have been explained by the optimal foraging theory [20,21], because larger seeds offer higher nutrient content than smaller ones.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fruit Size Determines the Role of Three Scatter-Hoarding Rodents as Dispersers or Seed Predators of a Fleshy-Fruited Atacama Desert Shrub

2016

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Scatter-hoarding rodents can act as both predators and dispersers for many large-seeded plants because they cache seeds for future use, but occasionally forget them in sites with high survival and establishment probabilities. The most important fruit or seed trait influencing rodent foraging behavior is seed size; rodents prefer large seeds because they have higher nutritional content, but this preference can be counterbalanced by the higher costs of handling larger seeds. We designed a cafeteria experiment to assess whether fruit and seed size of Myrcianthes coquimbensis, an endangered desert shrub, influence the decision-making process during foraging by three species of scatter-hoarding rodents differing in body size: Abrothrix olivaceus, Phyllotis darwini and Octodon degus. We found that the size of fruits and seeds influenced foraging behavior in the three rodent species; the probability of a fruit being harvested and hoarded was higher for larger fruits than for smaller ones. Patterns of fruit size preference were not affected by rodent size; all species were able to hoard fruits within the entire range of sizes offered. Finally, fruit and seed size had no effect on the probability of seed predation, rodents typically ate only the fleshy pulp of the fruits offered and discarded whole, intact seeds. In conclusion, our results reveal that larger M. coquimbensis fruits have higher probabilities of being harvested, and ultimately of its seeds being hoarded and dispersed by scatter-hoarding rodents. As this plant has no other dispersers, rodents play an important role in its recruitment dynamics.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fruit Size Determines the Role of Three Scatter-Hoarding Rodents as Dispersers or Seed Predators of a Fleshy-Fruited Atacama Desert Shrub

2016

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“…Despite the importance of secondary dispersal by scatter-hoarding rodents, the degree to which rodents are effective seed dispersers has rarely been measured due to methodological limitations (Galvez et al 2009;Galetti et al 2010). Most published studies of seed dispersal focus on the initial dispersal of seeds from the source plant and do not record additional (aka secondary) dispersal (Vander Wall et al 2005, Emmerson et al 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A telemetric thread tag for tracking seed dispersal by scatter-hoarding rodents

2012

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The seeds of many tree species are dispersed more than once, and this secondary seed dispersal is believed to enhance seedling recruitment. However, the effectiveness of secondary seed dispersal has rarely been assessed because it is difficult to track seeds until they die or germinate. We describe a new technique that uses thread tags attached to radio transmitters (telemetric thread tags) to track longdistance multistep seed dispersal by scatter-hoarding rodents. These telemetric thread tags can be turned off with a magnet and are reactivated when the seed moves. This method allows for seed tracking with minimal cache disturbance or distance bias, over long time spans, multiple seed movements, and with few effects on animal behavior. We used telemetric thread tags to track seed dispersal of the palm tree Astrocaryum standleyanum in a Neotropical forest, and achieved near-complete recovery of dispersed seeds tracked over distances as far as 241 m. We were also able to record the recovery time and fate of cached seeds without disturbing caches. Neither the removal rate nor the dispersal distance differed between seeds with telemetric thread tags and thread-tagged seeds. We conclude that telemetric thread tags can be used to document secondary seed dispersal by scatter-hoarding animals with unprecedented efficacy and precision. Given the size of these tags relative to the size of seeds and their dispersers, this method is applicable to the majority of tree species that are secondarily dispersed by scatter-hoarding mammals.

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“…Otra posibilidad es que las semillas no sean enterradas por ser muy pequeñas, ya que las semillas de masa menor a 0.9 g (i.e. Euterpe edulis) no serían enterradas por Dasyprocta (Galetti et al 2010); sin embargo, esto no aplica a las semillas de Mauritia, que tienen masas mucho mayores. También se ha observado ACTA AMAZONICA que Dasyprocta prefiere las semillas depredadas por brúquidos sobre aquellas que no lo están (Silvius y Fragoso 2002), debido posiblemente a que los endocarpios con brúquidos son más fáciles de abrir y que las larvas serían una buena fuente de proteínas y lípidos (Fragoso 1997;Silvius y Fragoso 2002).…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

Dispersión de semillas de Mauritia flexuosa (Arecaceae) por frugívoros terrestres en Laguna Azul, Beni, Bolivia

Mendieta-Aguilar

Pacheco

Roldán³

2015

Acta Amaz.

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RESUMENEl acopio esparcido ha recibido singular atención en las últimas décadas, y muchos estudios se han centrado en semillas de palmeras dispersadas por Dasyprocta. Nuestro objetivo fue identificar las especies consumidoras de frutos de Mauritia flexuosa, evaluar la importancia relativa de esas especies y el destino de las semillas dispersadas. Utilizamos experimentos de campo para evaluar el destino de las semillas removidas por frugívoros, en la Reserva de la Biosfera Pilón Lajas, Bolivia. Predijimos que las semillas enterradas por Dasyprocta tendrían menor mortalidad que las no enterradas. Colocamos 6-16 estaciones de frutos, con 15-50 frutos cada una, en cinco periodos de muestreo cubriendo un año. Los principales dispersores de M. flexuosa fueron D. punctata y Cuniculus paca, que transportan las semillas un máximo de 12.63 m y 14.1 m, respectivamente. Los dispersores removieron 7.5% de los frutos de las estaciones. Todas las semillas dispersadas en cuatro de los muestreos fueron depredadas o se pudrieron; solamente el 0.5% de las semillas dispersadas en febrero germinaron. De las semillas colocadas sobre y debajo del suelo en época seca y húmeda, solamente sobrevivieron aquellas enterradas en la época húmeda; el resto fueron depredadas o se pudrieron. Ninguna de las 84 semillas removidas por D. punctata fue enterrada, lo cual difiere de casi todos los reportes sobre el comportamiento de Dasyprocta. Discutimos este resultado en relación al posible efecto de la humedad del suelo y el tamaño de las semillas, y postulamos que la elevada abundancia del recurso haría innecesario acopiar semillas bajo suelo. PALABRAS CLAVE: Scatterhoarding, Dasyprocta, Cuniculus, palmeras, Pilón Lajas Seed dispersal of Mauritia flexuosa (Arecaceae) by terretrial frugivores in Laguna Azul, Beni, Bolivia ABSTRACT Scatterhoarding has received special attention for the last couple of decades, and several studies focused on palms whose seeds are dispersed by Dasyprocta. Our objective was to know the species that consume fruits of Mauritia flexuosa, to evaluate the relative importance of consumer species, and also to assess the fate of dispersed seeds. Using field experiments we evaluated the fate of seeds removed by frugivores at the Pilón Lajas Biosphere Reserve, Bolivia. We predicted that seeds buried by Dasyprocta would present lower mortality that those left unburied. We placed 6-16 fruit stations, with 15-50 fruits each, in five sampling periods along a year. The main seed dispersers of M. flexuosa were D. punctata and Cuniculus paca, which transported seeds a maximum of 12.63 m, and 14.1, respectively. Dispersers removed 7.5% of the fruits from the stations. All seeds removed during four out of the five sampling periods were either predated, or rotted; only 0.5% of the seeds dispersed in February germinated. From the total of seeds we buried in the dry and wet season only survived those buried in the wet season, the remaining were predated or rotted off. None of the 84 seeds removed by D. punctata were buried, which differs fro...

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The role of seed mass on the caching decision by agoutis, Dasyprocta leporina (Rodentia: Agoutidae)

Cited by 44 publications

References 20 publications

Fruit Size Determines the Role of Three Scatter-Hoarding Rodents as Dispersers or Seed Predators of a Fleshy-Fruited Atacama Desert Shrub

Fruit Size Determines the Role of Three Scatter-Hoarding Rodents as Dispersers or Seed Predators of a Fleshy-Fruited Atacama Desert Shrub

A telemetric thread tag for tracking seed dispersal by scatter-hoarding rodents

Dispersión de semillas de Mauritia flexuosa (Arecaceae) por frugívoros terrestres en Laguna Azul, Beni, Bolivia

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