Difference on cone size preferences between two coniferous species by Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
The number of species that specialize in pre-dispersal seed predation is relatively small. Examples of specialized pre-dispersal seed predators adapted to feeding on closed cones include vertebrate species like Crossbills, Squirrels, Nutcrackers and Woodpeckers. Seed predation selects against certai...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2017-05-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/3288.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797423763135922176 |
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| author | Łukasz Dylewski Reuven Yosef Łukasz Myczko |
| author_facet | Łukasz Dylewski Reuven Yosef Łukasz Myczko |
| author_sort | Łukasz Dylewski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The number of species that specialize in pre-dispersal seed predation is relatively small. Examples of specialized pre-dispersal seed predators adapted to feeding on closed cones include vertebrate species like Crossbills, Squirrels, Nutcrackers and Woodpeckers. Seed predation selects against certain phenotypic features of cones and favors another phenotypic features. In this study, we document preferences of the Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) for specific traits in the cones of Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). We found that the Great Spotted Woodpecker prefers to feed on medium sized Norway spruce cones. The results suggest a disruptive selection that favors the extreme cone lengths in Norway spruce. In Scots pine, the woodpeckers avoided cones with large apophyses. Further, the selectivity for the specific characteristics of the cones is probably related to the configuration of the anvil, a place at which woodpeckers extract seeds from the cones. We think that the Great Spotted Woodpecker preferences in relation to the morphological characteristics of cones are a key to the design of the anvil in order to maximize the use of it as a tool for processing cones of both the Norway spruce and the Scots pine. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:52:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4671e894bce24eb68834a9b0c62d0072 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:52:30Z |
| publishDate | 2017-05-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-4671e894bce24eb68834a9b0c62d00722023-12-03T01:27:04ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592017-05-015e328810.7717/peerj.3288Difference on cone size preferences between two coniferous species by Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)Łukasz Dylewski0Reuven Yosef1Łukasz Myczko2Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, PolandEilat Campus, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Eilat, IsraelInstitute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, PolandThe number of species that specialize in pre-dispersal seed predation is relatively small. Examples of specialized pre-dispersal seed predators adapted to feeding on closed cones include vertebrate species like Crossbills, Squirrels, Nutcrackers and Woodpeckers. Seed predation selects against certain phenotypic features of cones and favors another phenotypic features. In this study, we document preferences of the Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) for specific traits in the cones of Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). We found that the Great Spotted Woodpecker prefers to feed on medium sized Norway spruce cones. The results suggest a disruptive selection that favors the extreme cone lengths in Norway spruce. In Scots pine, the woodpeckers avoided cones with large apophyses. Further, the selectivity for the specific characteristics of the cones is probably related to the configuration of the anvil, a place at which woodpeckers extract seeds from the cones. We think that the Great Spotted Woodpecker preferences in relation to the morphological characteristics of cones are a key to the design of the anvil in order to maximize the use of it as a tool for processing cones of both the Norway spruce and the Scots pine.https://peerj.com/articles/3288.pdfPre-dispersal seed predationPhenotypic selectionNorway spruceGreat Spotted WoodpeckerAnvilsScots pine |
| spellingShingle | Łukasz Dylewski Reuven Yosef Łukasz Myczko Difference on cone size preferences between two coniferous species by Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) PeerJ Pre-dispersal seed predation Phenotypic selection Norway spruce Great Spotted Woodpecker Anvils Scots pine |
| title | Difference on cone size preferences between two coniferous species by Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) |
| title_full | Difference on cone size preferences between two coniferous species by Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) |
| title_fullStr | Difference on cone size preferences between two coniferous species by Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Difference on cone size preferences between two coniferous species by Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) |
| title_short | Difference on cone size preferences between two coniferous species by Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) |
| title_sort | difference on cone size preferences between two coniferous species by great spotted woodpecker dendrocopos major |
| topic | Pre-dispersal seed predation Phenotypic selection Norway spruce Great Spotted Woodpecker Anvils Scots pine |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/3288.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT łukaszdylewski differenceonconesizepreferencesbetweentwoconiferousspeciesbygreatspottedwoodpeckerdendrocoposmajor AT reuvenyosef differenceonconesizepreferencesbetweentwoconiferousspeciesbygreatspottedwoodpeckerdendrocoposmajor AT łukaszmyczko differenceonconesizepreferencesbetweentwoconiferousspeciesbygreatspottedwoodpeckerdendrocoposmajor |