The Role of Waterbirds in the Dispersal of Freshwater Cladocera and Bryozoa in Southern Africa
The Role of Waterbirds in the Dispersal of Freshwater Cladocera and Bryozoa in Southern Africa
复制标题
水鸟在南部非洲淡水枝角类和苔藓虫传播中的作用
DOI：
10.1080/15627020.2015.1108164
复制
发表时间：
2015
期刊：
影响因子：
1.1
通讯作者：
G. Cumming
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
C. Reynolds;G. Cumming
长期以来人们一直认为水鸟传播水生生物的繁殖体。然而，直到最近几年，这种说法才得到实证探索，而且人们对南部非洲水鸟介导的扩散知之甚少。水生无脊椎动物被认为非常适合水鸟的传播，因为它们能够产生耐寒的休眠卵。我们探索了水鸟通过内生动物和外生动物传播枝角类和苔藓虫卵的能力。我们检查了南非六种水鸟和两个湿地的 283 个粪便样本和 394 个羽毛刷中是否存在滞育蛋。总共回收了 108 个完整的水硬铝石，完整的卵分别存在于粪便样本和羽毛刷中的 16% 和 7%。我们的研究结果表明，南部非洲水鸟确实会吸收水生无脊椎动物的休眠卵，并且这些卵可以通过肠道完好无损地存活或仍然附着在羽毛上。这些结果提供了证据，表明水鸟可能是南部非洲水生无脊椎动物的重要载体，并意味着水鸟可能在维持孤立湿地斑块中无脊椎动物种群之间的连通性方面发挥着至关重要的作用。
It has long been presumed that waterbirds disperse the propagules of aquatic organisms. However, it is only in recent years that this claim has been empirically explored and little is still known about waterbird-mediated dispersal in southern Africa. Aquatic invertebrates are thought to be well adapted to dispersal by waterbirds because of their ability to produce hardy resting eggs. We explored the capacity of waterbirds to disperse the eggs of both cladocera and bryozoans via endo- and ectozoochory. We examined 283 faecal samples and 394 feather brushings from six waterbird species and two wetland sites in South Africa for the presence of diapausing eggs. A total of 108 intact diaspores were recovered, with intact eggs present in 16% and 7% of the faecal samples and feather brushings, respectively. Our results indicate that southern African waterbirds do take up the resting eggs of aquatic invertebrates and that these eggs can survive intact through the gut or remain attached to the feathers. These results provide evidence that waterbirds may be important vectors for aquatic invertebrates in southern Africa and imply that waterbirds may play a vital role in maintaining connectivity between invertebrate populations in isolated wetland patches.