RUI: The Contribution of Secondary Seed Dispersal to the Reproductive Success of "Wind-Dispersed" Pines

RUI：二次种子传播对“风散”松树繁殖成功的贡献

• 批准号: 9708155
• 负责人: Stephen Vander Wall
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: Board of Regents, NSHE, obo University of Nevada, Reno
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1997
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1997-08-15 至 2004-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9708155&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Contribution; Secondary; Seed; Dispersal

Vander Wall 9708155 The objective of this research is to determine the relative contributions of primary (wind) and secondary (animal scatter hoarding) dispersal to the reproductive success of four species of pines with winged seeds that vary in seed mass: lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta; 7 mg/seed), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa; 55 mg), Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi; 146 mg), and sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana; 288 mg). Scatter-hoarding animals provide several important benefits to the seeds, including dispersal that often carries the seed away from the source plant, burial of the seeds in soil, and caching the seed in microhabitats that often favor seedling establishment. The variation in seed size is expected to influence the aerodynamic behavior of the seed and the attractiveness of the seed to vertebrate foragers (i.e., both primary and secondary dispersal). As seed size increases, the relative effectiveness of wind dispersal should decrease and the relative effectiveness of animal-mediated dispersal should increase. This research will make fundamental contributions to our understanding of seed dispersal and reproductive success in plants, especially with regard to the role of secondary dispersal, which has received little study. Further, this study will also provide information that will help foresters more effectively manage these economically valuable trees. The critical steps of seed dispersal and seedling establishment are poorly understood for these pines. The current assumption, based on seed morphology and cone phenology, is that these pines are wind dispersed and that animals act almost exclusively as seed predators. The results of this research will fill this gap in our knowledge and provide scientifically sound data on which to base management decisions.

Vander Wall 9708155 这项研究的目的是确定初级（风）和次级（动物分散囤积）扩散对四种带有不同种子质量的带翅种子的松树繁殖成功率的相对贡献：黑松（Pinus contorta；7 毫克/种子）、美国黄松（Pinus ponderosa；55 毫克）、杰弗里松（Pinus） 杰弗里伊； 146 毫克）和糖松（Pinus Lambertiana；288 毫克）。 分散囤积动物为种子提供了几个重要的好处，包括经常将种子带离来源植物的传播、将种子埋在土壤中以及将种子储存在通常有利于幼苗建立的微生境中。 种子大小的变化预计会影响种子的空气动力学行为以及种子对脊椎动物觅食者的吸引力（即初级和次级传播）。 随着种子大小的增加，风传播的相对有效性应降低，而动物介导的传播的相对有效性应增加。 这项研究将为我们理解植物的种子传播和繁殖成功做出根本性贡献，特别是在二次传播的作用方面，这方面的研究很少。此外，这项研究还将提供信息，帮助林务人员更有效地管理这些具有经济价值的树木。 对于这些松树，种子传播和幼苗建立的关键步骤知之甚少。 目前基于种子形态和球果物候学的假设是，这些松树是通过风传播的，而动物几乎完全充当种子捕食者。 这项研究的结果将填补我们的知识空白，并提供科学合理的数据作为管理决策的基础。