Dissertation Research: Dispersal of moss spores by birds: elucidating the mechanisms of behaviorally enhanced bryophyte dispersal networks

个别的动物和植物经常从它们的出生地搬到新的地方，在那里度过它们的一生。这种被称为“扩散”的运动在生态学中很重要，因为它在很大程度上决定了物种在哪里被发现，哪些物种会相互接触，以及它们能为自然和人类提供什么服务。有时，植物依靠动物来传播。例如，许多树木和灌木依靠鸟类来吃它们的果实，并将它们的种子排泄到其他地方。苔藓也可能依赖鸟类传播孢子，孢子就像种子一样，但实际上我们对此一无所知。研究人员将研究在鸟类羽毛上发现孢子的频率，以及孢子是否真的被鸟类传播。苔藓在生态系统中发挥着重要作用，有助于养分循环，保持水分，为许多森林动物提供筑巢材料和觅食场所。通过了解苔藓扩散和鸟类行为之间的关系，管理者和决策者将对土地利用决策如何影响自然资源的使用和保护有一个更全面的了解。随着时间的推移，扩散是形成生态群落的关键过程。通过与动物媒介的关联进行行为介导的传播可以大大增加到达有利地点的机会。鸟类对种子植物传播的影响已经被广泛研究，并且已知会影响传播结果，但鸟类对苔藓植物孢子的传播却很少受到关注。初步研究表明，苔藓植物孢子存在于多种鸟类身上，并且这些孢子是可存活的。此外，有证据表明鸟类和苔藓植物之间存在物种特异性关系。在这项工作的基础上，该项目有两个目标：1)确定鸟类的行为定向传播与通过风传播的大量孢子有何不同；2)确定孢子在鸟类身上的局部保留时间。第二个目标的结果将被纳入飞行距离时间模型，以解决鸟类长距离传播孢子的可能性。总之，这些目标将加强对苔藓植物扩散生态学的理解，并将提供一个可用于测试气管植物中发展的理论的比较模型。

Individual animals and plants often move from their places of birth to new locations, where they live out their lives. This movement, known as "dispersal", is important in ecology because it largely determines where species are found, which species come in contact with each other, and the services they can then provide to nature and to humans. Sometimes, plants depend on animals for dispersal. Many trees and shrubs, for example, rely on birds to eat their fruits and defecate their seeds somewhere else. Mosses may also rely on birds for dispersal of spores, which are like seeds, but practically nothing is known about it. Researchers will study how often spores are found on the feathers of birds and whether the spores are actually dispersed by the birds. Mosses play an important role in ecosystems by contributing to nutrient cycling, maintaining water, and providing nesting material and places to forage for many forest animals. By understanding the relationship between moss dispersal and bird behavior, managers and policy makers will have a more complete picture of how land use decisions influence the use and conservation of natural resources.Dispersal is a key process shaping ecological communities over time. Behaviorally-mediated dispersal via an association with an animal vector can greatly increase the chances of arriving in a favorable locale. While the impact of avian dispersal of seed plants has been widely studied and is known to impact dispersal outcomes, avian dispersal of bryophyte spores has received little attention. Preliminary work has shown that bryophyte spores are present on a wide variety of bird species, and that these spores are viable. In addition, there is evidence for species-specific relationships between birds and bryophytes. Building on this work, this project has two aims: 1) to determine how behaviorally-directed dispersal by birds differs from bulk spore flow via wind, and 2) to determine the topical retention time of spores on birds. Results from the second aim will be incorporated into a model of flight distance times to address the likelihood of long distance spore dispersal by birds. Together, these aims will enhance understanding of bryophyte dispersal ecology and will provide a comparative model that can be used to test theories developed in tracheophytes.