Stiegler Jonas, Kiemel Katrin, Eccard Jana, Fischer Christina, Hering Robert, Ortmann Sylvia, Strigl Lea, Tiedemann Ralph, Ullmann Wiebke, Blaum Niels
Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation University of Potsdam Potsdam Germany.
Institute of Biochemistry and Biology Evolutionary Biology / Systematic Zoology University of Potsdam Potsdam Germany.
Ecol Evol. 2021 Dec 14;11(24):18477-18491. doi: 10.1002/ece3.8440. eCollection 2021 Dec.
Although many plants are dispersed by wind and seeds can travel long distances across unsuitable matrix areas, a large proportion relies on co-evolved zoochorous seed dispersal to connect populations in isolated habitat islands. Particularly in agricultural landscapes, where remaining habitat patches are often very small and highly isolated, mobile linkers as zoochorous seed dispersers are critical for the population dynamics of numerous plant species. However, knowledge about the quali- or quantification of such mobile link processes, especially in agricultural landscapes, is still limited. In a controlled feeding experiment, we recorded the seed intake and germination success after complete digestion by the European brown hare ( and explored its mobile link potential as an endozoochoric seed disperser. Utilizing a suite of common, rare, and potentially invasive plant species, we disentangled the effects of seed morphological traits on germination success while controlling for phylogenetic relatedness. Further, we measured the landscape connectivity via hares in two contrasting agricultural landscapes (simple: few natural and semi-natural structures, large fields; complex: high amount of natural and semi-natural structures, small fields) using GPS-based movement data. With 34,710 seeds of 44 plant species fed, one of 200 seeds (0.51%) with seedlings of 33 species germinated from feces. Germination after complete digestion was positively related to denser seeds with comparatively small surface area and a relatively slender and elongated shape, suggesting that, for hares, the most critical seed characteristics for successful endozoochorous seed dispersal minimize exposure of the seed to the stomach and the associated digestive system. Furthermore, we could show that a hare's retention time is long enough to interconnect different habitats, especially grasslands and fields. Thus, besides other seed dispersal mechanisms, this most likely allows hares to act as effective mobile linkers contributing to ecosystem stability in times of agricultural intensification, not only in complex but also in simple landscapes.
尽管许多植物通过风力传播，种子可以在不适宜的基质区域远距离传播，但很大一部分植物依赖共同进化的动物传播种子来连接孤立栖息地岛屿中的种群。特别是在农业景观中，剩余的栖息地斑块通常非常小且高度孤立，作为动物传播种子者的移动连接者对于众多植物物种的种群动态至关重要。然而，关于这种移动连接过程的质量或量化的知识，尤其是在农业景观中，仍然有限。在一项控制饲养实验中，我们记录了欧洲棕兔完全消化后的种子摄入量和发芽成功率，并探索了其作为内吞种子传播者的移动连接潜力。利用一系列常见、稀有和潜在入侵植物物种，我们在控制系统发育相关性的同时，解开了种子形态特征对发芽成功率的影响。此外，我们使用基于GPS的移动数据，测量了两种对比鲜明的农业景观（简单：自然和半自然结构少，田地大；复杂：自然和半自然结构多，田地小）中野兔的景观连通性。投喂了44种植物的34710颗种子，粪便中发芽的200颗种子中有1颗（0.51%）长出了33种植物的幼苗。完全消化后的发芽与表面积相对较小、形状相对细长的较密集种子呈正相关，这表明，对于野兔来说，成功进行内吞种子传播的最关键种子特征是尽量减少种子与胃及相关消化系统的接触。此外，我们可以证明野兔的停留时间足够长，足以连接不同的栖息地，尤其是草地和田地。因此，除了其他种子传播机制外，这很可能使野兔能够作为有效的移动连接者，在农业集约化时期促进生态系统的稳定，不仅在复杂景观中，而且在简单景观中也是如此。
