Li Ning, Li Xin-Hai, An Shu-Qing, Lu Chang-Hu
Laboratory of Plant-Animal Interactions, College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
School of Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210046, Jiangsu, China.
Sci Rep. 2016 Jan 4;6:17489. doi: 10.1038/srep17489.
Frugivorous birds generally exhibit an unequal contribution to dispersal effectiveness of plant species as a function of their habitat adaptation and body size. In our study, we compared the effectiveness of multiple bird species that contribute to the dispersal of the endangered relic Chinese yew, Taxus chinensis. Seven bird species dispersed T. chinensis seeds, with Picus canus, Turdus hortulorum, and Urocissa erythrorhyncha being the main dispersers. The quantity part of dispersal effectiveness was strongly influenced by two inherent characteristics of disperser species: body size and habitat adaptation. However, the quality part of dispersal effectiveness was only influenced by disperser type. For instance, small generalist birds and large specialist birds removed more seeds than other type dispersers. Moreover, small birds and specialist birds contributed slightly more to the dispersal quality of T. chinensis than large birds and generalist birds respectively; however, these differences were not significant. Our results suggest that dispersal effectiveness is affected by variety in the body size and habitat adaptation of different dispersers. Therefore, such variation should be incorporated into spatial and temporal management actions of relic plant species in patchy, human-disturbed habitats.
食果鸟类对植物物种扩散有效性的贡献通常因栖息地适应性和体型大小而有所不同。在我们的研究中，我们比较了多种有助于濒危孑遗植物中国红豆杉种子扩散的鸟类的有效性。七种鸟类传播中国红豆杉种子，其中灰头绿啄木鸟、红点颏和红嘴蓝鹊是主要传播者。扩散有效性的数量部分受到传播者物种的两个固有特征的强烈影响：体型大小和栖息地适应性。然而，扩散有效性的质量部分仅受传播者类型的影响。例如，小型泛化种鸟类和大型特化种鸟类比其他类型的传播者移除的种子更多。此外，小型鸟类和特化种鸟类分别对中国红豆杉的扩散质量贡献略高于大型鸟类和泛化种鸟类；然而，这些差异并不显著。我们的结果表明，扩散有效性受到不同传播者体型大小和栖息地适应性差异的影响。因此，这种差异应纳入到斑块状、受人类干扰栖息地中孑遗植物物种的时空管理行动中。
