Gelmi-Candusso Tiziana A, Bialozyt Ronald, Slana Darja, Zárate Gómez Ricardo, Heymann Eckhard W, Heer Katrin
Verhaltensökologie & Soziobiologie Deutsches Primatenzentrum - Leibniz-Institut für Primatenforschung Göttingen Germany.
Conservation Biology Phillips-Universität Marburg Marburg Germany.
Ecol Evol. 2019 Jul 25;9(16):8965-8977. doi: 10.1002/ece3.5422. eCollection 2019 Aug.
Seed dispersal distance (SDD) critically influences the survival of seedlings, spatial patterns of genetic diversity within plant populations, and gene flow among plant populations. In animal-dispersed species, foraging behavior and movement patterns determine SDD. Direct observations of seed dispersal events by animals in natural plant populations are mostly constrained by the high mobility and low visibility of seed dispersers. Therefore, diverse alternative methods are used to estimate seed dispersal distance, but direct comparisons of these approaches within the same seed dispersal system are mostly missing.We investigated two plant species with different life history traits, and , exclusively dispersed by two tamarin species, and . We compared SDD estimates obtained from direct observations, genetic identification of mother plants from seed coats, parentage analysis of seedlings/saplings, and phenomenological and mechanistic modeling approaches.SDD derived from the different methods ranged between 158 and 201 m for and between 178 and 318 m for . In , the modeling approaches resulted in moderately higher estimates than observations and genotyping of seed coats. In , parentage analysis resulted in a lower estimate than all other methods. Overall, SDD estimates for (179 ± 16 m; mean ± ) were significantly lower than for (266 ± 59 m; mean ± ).Differences among methods were related to processes of the seed dispersal loop integrated by the respective methods (e.g., seed deposition or seedling distribution). We discuss the merits and limitations of each method and highlight the aspects to be considered when comparing SDD derived from different methodologies. Differences among plant species were related to differences in reproductive traits influencing gut passage time and feeding behavior, highlighting the importance of plant traits on animal-mediated seed dispersal distance.
种子传播距离（SDD）对幼苗的存活、植物种群内遗传多样性的空间格局以及植物种群间的基因流动有着至关重要的影响。在动物传播的物种中，觅食行为和移动模式决定了种子传播距离。在自然植物种群中，对动物传播种子事件的直接观察大多受到种子传播者高移动性和低可见性的限制。因此，人们使用了多种替代方法来估计种子传播距离，但在同一种子传播系统中对这些方法进行直接比较的情况大多缺失。我们研究了两种具有不同生活史特征的植物物种，以及，它们仅由两种绢毛猴物种和传播。我们比较了通过直接观察、从种皮进行母株基因鉴定、对幼苗/幼树进行亲权分析以及现象学和机制建模方法获得的种子传播距离估计值。对于，不同方法得出的种子传播距离在158米至201米之间，对于则在178米至318米之间。在中，建模方法得出的估计值略高于观察值和种皮基因分型。在中，亲权分析得出的估计值低于所有其他方法。总体而言，的种子传播距离估计值（179 ± 16米；平均值 ± ）显著低于的（266 ± 59米；平均值 ± ）。方法之间的差异与各方法所整合的种子传播循环过程（例如种子沉积或幼苗分布）有关。我们讨论了每种方法的优缺点，并强调了在比较不同方法得出的种子传播距离时应考虑的方面。植物物种之间的差异与影响肠道通过时间和取食行为的生殖特征差异有关，突出了植物特征对动物介导的种子传播距离的重要性。
