Treep Jelle, de Jager Monique, Bartumeus Frederic, Soons Merel B
Ecology & Biodiversity group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Mov Ecol. 2021 Jan 29;9(1):4. doi: 10.1186/s40462-020-00239-1.
Plant dispersal is a critical factor driving ecological responses to global changes. Knowledge on the mechanisms of dispersal is rapidly advancing, but selective pressures responsible for the evolution of dispersal strategies remain elusive. Recent advances in animal movement ecology identified general strategies that may optimize efficiency in animal searches for food or habitat. Here we explore the potential for evolution of similar general movement strategies for plants.
We propose that seed dispersal in plants can be viewed as a strategic search for suitable habitat, where the probability of finding such locations has been optimized through evolution of appropriate dispersal kernels. Using model simulations, we demonstrate how dispersal strategies can optimize key dispersal trade-offs between finding habitat, avoiding kin competition, and colonizing new patches. These trade-offs depend strongly on the landscape, resulting in a tight link between optimal dispersal strategy and spatiotemporal habitat distribution.
Our findings reveal that multi-scale seed dispersal strategies that combine a broad range of dispersal scales, including Lévy-like dispersal, are optimal across a wide range of dynamic and patchy landscapes. At the extremes, static and patchy landscapes select for dispersal strategies dominated by short distances, while uniform and highly unpredictable landscapes both select for dispersal strategies dominated by long distances.
By viewing plant seed dispersal as a strategic search for suitable habitat, we provide a reference framework for the analysis of plant dispersal data. Consideration of the entire dispersal kernel, including distances across the full range of scales, is key. This reference framework helps identify plant species' dispersal strategies, the evolutionary forces determining these strategies and their ecological consequences, such as a potential mismatch between plant dispersal strategy and altered spatiotemporal habitat dynamics due to land use change. Our perspective opens up directions for future studies, including exploration of composite search behaviour and 'informed searches' in plant species with directed dispersal.
植物扩散是驱动生态系统对全球变化做出响应的关键因素。关于扩散机制的知识正在迅速发展，但导致扩散策略进化的选择压力仍然难以捉摸。动物运动生态学的最新进展确定了一些通用策略，这些策略可能会优化动物寻找食物或栖息地的效率。在此，我们探讨植物是否有可能进化出类似的通用运动策略。
我们提出，植物中的种子扩散可被视为对合适栖息地的策略性搜索，通过进化出适当的扩散核，找到此类地点的概率已得到优化。利用模型模拟，我们展示了扩散策略如何在寻找栖息地、避免近亲竞争和开拓新斑块之间优化关键的扩散权衡。这些权衡在很大程度上取决于景观，从而导致最优扩散策略与时空栖息地分布之间存在紧密联系。
我们的研究结果表明，结合多种扩散尺度（包括类 Lévy 扩散）的多尺度种子扩散策略在广泛的动态和斑块状景观中是最优的。在极端情况下，静态和斑块状景观选择以短距离为主的扩散策略，而均匀且高度不可预测的景观则都选择以长距离为主的扩散策略。
通过将植物种子扩散视为对合适栖息地的策略性搜索，我们为分析植物扩散数据提供了一个参考框架。考虑整个扩散核，包括跨所有尺度范围的距离，是关键所在。这个参考框架有助于识别植物物种的扩散策略、决定这些策略的进化力量及其生态后果，例如植物扩散策略与由于土地利用变化而改变的时空栖息地动态之间可能存在的不匹配。我们的观点为未来的研究开辟了方向，包括探索具有定向扩散的植物物种的复合搜索行为和“智能搜索”。
