Importance of plant and bird traits on the seed removal pattern of endangered trees across different forest patches in southeast China
Abstract Seed removal by birds has been recognized as an important part of seed dispersal process in patchy forest areas; however, few studies have focused on the contribution of both plant and bird traits to seed removal. In this study, field data of seed removal for Taxus chinensis was combined wi...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Ecological Processes |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13717-020-00253-6 |
| _version_ | 1818451734424453120 |
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| author | Ning Li Shuai Zhang Yuan-Hao Ren Zheng Wang |
| author_facet | Ning Li Shuai Zhang Yuan-Hao Ren Zheng Wang |
| author_sort | Ning Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Seed removal by birds has been recognized as an important part of seed dispersal process in patchy forest areas; however, few studies have focused on the contribution of both plant and bird traits to seed removal. In this study, field data of seed removal for Taxus chinensis was combined with the data of bird and plant traits for analysis. The relevant traits of plants and birds that influenced T. chinensis–bird interaction were identified in a remnant patchy forest in yew ecological garden, Fujian Province, southeast China. Twenty bird species were found to forage and remove the seeds of T. chinensis. The number of bird species varied in different forest patches; however, their contribution to seed removal showed no significant differences. Both bird and plant traits were found to affect seed removal. The seed removal rate was positively affected by bird traits, such as foraging frequency and wing length, but decreased with body weight. The plant traits, such as number of fruits, tree height, canopy density, and crown width, which are related to safe shelter and food resource conditions, increased the seed removal rate. Our results underline the functional importance of bird and plant traits in the seed removal from endangered trees in patchy forests. Therefore, future conservation strategies should prioritize and recognize the role of both plant and bird traits in seed dispersal in remnant patchy forests. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T21:11:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c274c6e02fc84f8e8c28d5df3da751f4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2192-1709 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T21:11:54Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Processes |
| spelling | doaj.art-c274c6e02fc84f8e8c28d5df3da751f42022-12-21T22:47:13ZengSpringerOpenEcological Processes2192-17092020-08-01911610.1186/s13717-020-00253-6Importance of plant and bird traits on the seed removal pattern of endangered trees across different forest patches in southeast ChinaNing Li0Shuai Zhang1Yuan-Hao Ren2Zheng Wang3Institute of Applied Ecology, Nanjing Xiaozhuang UniversityCollege of Biology and Environmental Science, Nanjing Forestry UniversityInstitute of Applied Ecology, Nanjing Xiaozhuang UniversityCollege of Biology and Environmental Science, Nanjing Forestry UniversityAbstract Seed removal by birds has been recognized as an important part of seed dispersal process in patchy forest areas; however, few studies have focused on the contribution of both plant and bird traits to seed removal. In this study, field data of seed removal for Taxus chinensis was combined with the data of bird and plant traits for analysis. The relevant traits of plants and birds that influenced T. chinensis–bird interaction were identified in a remnant patchy forest in yew ecological garden, Fujian Province, southeast China. Twenty bird species were found to forage and remove the seeds of T. chinensis. The number of bird species varied in different forest patches; however, their contribution to seed removal showed no significant differences. Both bird and plant traits were found to affect seed removal. The seed removal rate was positively affected by bird traits, such as foraging frequency and wing length, but decreased with body weight. The plant traits, such as number of fruits, tree height, canopy density, and crown width, which are related to safe shelter and food resource conditions, increased the seed removal rate. Our results underline the functional importance of bird and plant traits in the seed removal from endangered trees in patchy forests. Therefore, future conservation strategies should prioritize and recognize the role of both plant and bird traits in seed dispersal in remnant patchy forests.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13717-020-00253-6Seed removalBird traitPlant traitHypsipetes leucocephalusPatchy forest |
| spellingShingle | Ning Li Shuai Zhang Yuan-Hao Ren Zheng Wang Importance of plant and bird traits on the seed removal pattern of endangered trees across different forest patches in southeast China Ecological Processes Seed removal Bird trait Plant trait Hypsipetes leucocephalus Patchy forest |
| title | Importance of plant and bird traits on the seed removal pattern of endangered trees across different forest patches in southeast China |
| title_full | Importance of plant and bird traits on the seed removal pattern of endangered trees across different forest patches in southeast China |
| title_fullStr | Importance of plant and bird traits on the seed removal pattern of endangered trees across different forest patches in southeast China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Importance of plant and bird traits on the seed removal pattern of endangered trees across different forest patches in southeast China |
| title_short | Importance of plant and bird traits on the seed removal pattern of endangered trees across different forest patches in southeast China |
| title_sort | importance of plant and bird traits on the seed removal pattern of endangered trees across different forest patches in southeast china |
| topic | Seed removal Bird trait Plant trait Hypsipetes leucocephalus Patchy forest |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13717-020-00253-6 |
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