Johnson Jeremy S, Cantrell Robert Stephen, Cosner Chris, Hartig Florian, Hastings Alan, Rogers Haldre S, Schupp Eugene W, Shea Katriona, Teller Brittany J, Yu Xiao, Zurell Damaris, Pufal Gesine
School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
Dorena Genetic Resource Center, USDA Forest Service, Cottage Grove, OR, USA.
AoB Plants. 2019 Mar 28;11(3):plz020. doi: 10.1093/aobpla/plz020. eCollection 2019 Jun.
When climatic or environmental conditions change, plant populations must either adapt to these new conditions, or track their niche via seed dispersal. Adaptation of plants to different abiotic environments has mostly been discussed with respect to physiological and demographic parameters that allow local persistence. However, rapid modifications in response to changing environmental conditions can also affect seed dispersal, both via plant traits and via their dispersal agents. Studying such changes empirically is challenging, due to the high variability in dispersal success, resulting from environmental heterogeneity, and substantial phenotypic variability of dispersal-related traits of seeds and their dispersers. The exact mechanisms that drive rapid changes are often not well understood, but the ecological implications of these processes are essential determinants of dispersal success, and deserve more attention from ecologists, especially in the context of adaptation to global change. We outline the evidence for rapid changes in seed dispersal traits by discussing variability due to plasticity or genetics broadly, and describe the specific traits and biological systems in which variability in dispersal is being studied, before discussing some of the potential underlying mechanisms. We then address future research needs and propose a simulation model that incorporates phenotypic plasticity in seed dispersal. We close with a call to action and encourage ecologists and biologist to embrace the challenge of better understanding rapid changes in seed dispersal and their consequences for the reaction of plant populations to global change.
当气候或环境条件发生变化时，植物种群必须要么适应这些新条件，要么通过种子传播来追踪其生态位。植物对不同非生物环境的适应大多是从允许其在当地持续存在的生理和种群统计学参数方面进行讨论的。然而，对不断变化的环境条件做出的快速调整也会通过植物性状及其传播媒介影响种子传播。由于环境异质性导致传播成功率存在高度变异性，以及种子及其传播者与传播相关性状存在大量表型变异性，通过实证研究此类变化具有挑战性。驱动快速变化的确切机制往往尚未得到充分理解，但这些过程的生态影响是传播成功的重要决定因素，值得生态学家给予更多关注，尤其是在适应全球变化的背景下。我们通过广泛讨论可塑性或遗传学导致的变异性来概述种子传播性状快速变化的证据，并在讨论一些潜在的潜在机制之前，描述正在研究传播变异性的具体性状和生物系统。然后，我们阐述未来的研究需求，并提出一个纳入种子传播表型可塑性的模拟模型。我们以行动呼吁作为结尾，鼓励生态学家和生物学家迎接挑战，更好地理解种子传播的快速变化及其对植物种群对全球变化反应的影响。
