Synergistic effects of primates and dung beetles on soil seed accumulation in snow regions
Synergistic effects of primates and dung beetles on soil seed accumulation in snow regions
复制标题
灵长类动物和粪甲虫对雪区土壤种子积累的协同效应
DOI：
10.1007/s11284-014-1152-3
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发表时间：
2014
影响因子：
2
通讯作者：
H.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Enari;H.;& Sakamaki-Enari;H.
本研究旨在揭示日本大雪森林中内生孢子植物的土壤种子积累过程，与热带森林相比，日本森林中的种子传播剂很少。我们评估了(1)日本猕猴(Macaca Fuscata)通过识别其粪便中发现的分散种子来进行一次种子传播，以及(2)屎甲虫通过使用不同大小的珠子(作为种子模拟物)进行二次种子传播，以量化种子埋藏的频率和埋深。我们在不同的森林类型(未受干扰的山毛榉林、针叶林和次生山毛榉-栎林)以及春季和夏季研究了这种双孔性系统。主要研究结果如下：(1)猕猴在春季和夏季分别散布了11种植物和14种植物的种子；(2)猕猴春季散布的种子比夏季散布的种子小，数量是夏季的两倍；(3)尽管甲虫埋在土壤中的珠粒数量没有季节差异，但春季各种珠粒的埋深倾向于比夏季更深；(4)未受干扰的山毛榉林和针叶林对土壤的供种比次生山毛榉-栎林多。与在热带森林中观察到的情况类似，食果性哺乳动物排出的种子可以在深雪地区的温带森林中通过双孔猴-甲虫系统成功地并入地下土壤种子库。
This study aimed to reveal the soil seed accumulation processes for endozoochorous plants in the heavy-snowfall forests of Japan, where seed dispersal agents are few when compared to tropical forests. We assessed (1) primary seed dispersal by Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) by identifying dispersed seeds found in their feces, and (2) secondary seed dispersal by dung beetles by using beads (as seeds mimics) of different sizes, to quantify the frequency of seed burial and burial depths. We studied this diplochorous system in different forest types (undisturbed beech forest, conifer plantation, and secondary beech-oak forest) and during the spring and summer seasons. The key findings were as follows: (1) macaques dispersed the seeds of 11 and 14 plant species during spring and summer, respectively; (2) seeds dispersed by macaques in the spring were smaller and twice as abundant than those dispersed in the summer; (3) although no differences were observed in the amount of beads buried by beetles between seasons, all bead sizes tended to be buried in deeper soil layers in the spring than in the summer; and (4) the seed supply to the soil in undisturbed beech forest and conifer plantation was greater than the one in secondary beech-oak forest. Similar to what has been observed in tropical forests, seeds defecated by frugivorous mammals can be successfully incorporated into the underground soil seed bank through a diplochorous macaque-beetle system in temperate forests of deep snow regions.