Guo Shuhua, Yi Xianfeng, Sui Meixia
College of Biology and Oceanography Weifang University Weifang China.
School of Life Sciences Qufu Normal University Qufu China.
Ecol Evol. 2024 Jul 21;14(7):e70075. doi: 10.1002/ece3.70075. eCollection 2024 Jul.
Conspecific adults impose strong negative density-dependent effects on seed survival nearby parent trees, however, the underlying mechanisms are diversified and remain unclear. In this study, we presented consistent evidence that parent-scented forest floor masked seed odor, reduced cache recovery rate by scatter-hoarding animals, and then increased seed dispersal far away from mother trees. Our results showed that seed odors of Korean pine match well with the volatile profile of their forest floor. Moreover, scatter-hoarding animals selectively transported seeds toward the areas where seed odor was more contrasting against the background substrate, possibly due to the fact that accumulation of conspecific volatile compounds in caches hindered seed detection by scatter-hoarding animals. Our study provides insight into the role of leaf litter in directing seed dispersal process, representing a novel mechanism by which increases selection for seed dispersal far away from the parent tree.
同种成年个体对母树附近种子的存活施加强烈的负密度依赖效应，然而，其潜在机制是多样的，仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们提供了一致的证据，即带有母树气味的林地掩盖了种子气味，降低了分散贮藏动物找回贮藏种子的比率，进而增加了种子远离母树的扩散。我们的结果表明，红松种子气味与它们林地的挥发性成分非常匹配。此外，分散贮藏动物会将种子选择性地运到种子气味与背景基质对比度更高的区域，这可能是因为贮藏点同种挥发性化合物的积累阻碍了分散贮藏动物对种子的探测。我们的研究深入了解了落叶层在引导种子扩散过程中的作用，揭示了一种增加种子远离母树扩散选择的新机制。
