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393 results for “seed dispersal”
Data from: Roads shape seed dispersal by rodents and carnivores at forest edges
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Data from: Inducing seed dispersal by generalist frugivores: A new technique to overcome dispersal limitation in restoration
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Data from: Estimated missing interactions change the structure and alter species roles in one of the world’s largest seed-dispersal networks
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Seasonal variation in impact of non-native species on tropical seed dispersal networks
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Data from: Tracking temperate fish reveals their relevance for plant seed dispersal
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Data from: Are fragments fruitful? A comparison of plant–seed disperser communities between fragments and contiguous forest in north-east India
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Lost mutualisms: seed dispersal by Sumatran rhinos, the world’s most threatened megafauna
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Legacy effects of seed dispersal mechanisms shape the spatial interaction network of plant species in Mediterranean forests
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Changes in the structure of seed dispersal networks when including interaction outcomes from both plant and animal perspectives
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Pre-dispersal seed predation obscures the detrimental effect of dust on wildflower reproduction - fruit data
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Pre-dispersal seed predation obscures the detrimental effect of dust on wildflower reproduction - flowering and egg phenology
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Fruit secondary metabolites alter the quantity and quality of a seed dispersal mutualism
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Seed production and dispersal for Tsuga canadiensis
Long term monitoring of seed rain in mapped stands to determine seed production and dispersal.
Data from: From structure to function in mutualistic interaction networks: topologically important frugivores have greater potential as seed dispersers
1. Networks of mutualistic interactions between animals and plants are considered a pivotal part of ecological communities. However, mutualistic networks are rarely studied from the perspective of species-specific roles, and it remains to be established whether those animal species more relevant for network structure also contribute more to the ecological functions derived from interactions. 2. Here, we relate the contribution to seed dispersal of vertebrate species with their topological role in frugivore-plant interaction networks. For one year in two localities with remnant patches of Colombian tropical dry forest, we sampled abundance, morphology, behavior, and fruit consumption from fleshy-fruited plants of various frugivore species. 3. We assessed the network topological role of each frugivore species by integrating their degree of generalization in interactions with plants with their contributions to network nestedness and modularity. We estimated the potential contribution of each frugivore species to community-wide seed dispersal, on the basis of a set of frugivore ecological, morphological and behavioral characteristics important for seed dispersal, together with frugivore abundance and frugivory degree. 4. The various frugivore species showed strong differences in their network structural roles, with generalist species contributing the most to network modularity and nestedness. Frugivores also showed strong variability in terms of potential contribution to seed dispersal, depending on the specific combinations of frugivore abundance, frugivory degree and the different traits and behaviors. 5. For both localities, the seed dispersal potential of a frugivore species responded positively to its contribution to network structure, evidencing that the most important frugivore species in the network topology were also those making the strongest contribution as seed dispersers. Contribution to network structure was correlated with frugivore abundance, diet, and behavioral characteristics. This suggests that the species-level link between structure and function is due to the fact that the occurrence of frugivore-plant interactions depends largely on the characteristics of the frugivore involved, which also condition its ultimate role in seed dispersal. 22-May-2020
Data from: Selection on fruit traits is mediated by the interplay between frugivorous birds, fruit flies, parasitoid wasps, and seed-dispersing ants
Every organism on Earth must cope with a multitude of species interactions both directly and indirectly throughout its life cycle. However, how selection from multiple species occupying different trophic levels affects diffuse mutualisms has received little attention. As a result, how a given species amalgamates the combined effects of selection from multiple mutualists and antagonists to enhance its own fitness remains little understood. We investigated how multispecies interactions (frugivorous birds, ants, fruit flies, and parasitoid wasps) generate selection on fruit display traits in a seed dispersal mutualism. We used structural equation models to assess whether seed dispersers (frugivorous birds and ants) exerted phenotypic selection on fruit and seed traits in the Spiny Hackberry (Celtis ehrenbergiana), a fleshy-fruited tree, and how these selection regimes were influenced by fruit fly infestation and wasp parasitoidism levels. Birds exerted negative correlational selection on the combination of fruit crop size and mean seed weight, favoring either large crops with small seeds or small crops with large seeds. Parasitoids selected plants with higher fruit fly infestation levels, and fruit flies exerted positive directional selection on fruit size, which was positively correlated with seed weight. Therefore, higher parasitoidism indirectly correlated with higher plant fitness through increased bird fruit removal. In addition, ants exerted negative directional selection on mean seed weight. Our results show that strong selection on phenotypic traits may still arise in perceived diffuse species interactions. Overall, we emphasize the need to consider diverse direct and indirect partners to achieve a better understanding of the mechanisms driving phenotypic trait evolution in multispecies interactions.
Data from: Fruit traits of pioneer trees structure seed dispersal across distances on tropical deforested landscapes: implications for restoration
<ol> <li>Pioneer trees with fleshy fruits are typically planted in restoration projects to attract frugivores as a mean to increase dispersal and accelerate forest regeneration. However, differences in fruit traits of pioneer trees can potentially influence dispersal and their restoration outcomes.</li> <li>Here we investigated the effects of bird and plant traits, and distance to forest fragments, on the seed rain using a tree-planting experiment replicated in 12 deforested sites in Brazil. Factors were fruit traits of pioneer trees (wind-dispersed, bird-dispersed with lipids or with carbohydrates, and controls) and distance (10, 50, 300 m) from forest fragments.</li> <li>We found that density and richness of birds and seeds decreased exponentially with distance from fragments, yet these effects were minor compared to the effects of fruit traits on the structure of the seed rain.</li> <li>Overall, plots with fleshy-fruited pioneers attracted much greater bird activity and seed dispersal than plots with wind-dispersal pioneers and the controls. For instance, plots with carbohydrate-rich fruits received more than twice the average species richness and density of birds and seeds of plots with lipid-rich pioneer trees, surpassing wind-dispersed pioneers by more than 80%, and controls by over 90%. Furthermore, the fruit trait treatments resulted in morphological shifts in the average traits of visiting birds. Significant differences in bill gape and flight capacities (wing-loading) were associated with the differences in the seed rain associated with each treatments.</li> <li> <i>Synthesis and applications</i>. Understanding how trait-matching processes mediating mutualistic seed dispersal by frugivores interact with distance-dependent dispersal limitation on deforested tropical landscapes is critical for improving forest restoration efforts. This is especially relevant in the context of applied nucleation. As shown here, avian seed dispersal can thus be manipulated in restoration projects in order to increase connectivity and speed up forest recovery and the provision of the multiple ecosystem services that follow forest succession.</li> </ol>
Data from: The role of nocturnal omnivorous lemurs as seed dispersers in Malagasy rain forests
<p>Fruit-eating animals play important roles as seed dispersal agents in terrestrial systems. Yet, the extent to which seed dispersal by nocturnal omnivores may facilitate germination and the recruitment of plant communities has rarely been investigated. Characterizing their roles in seed dispersal is necessary to provide a more complete picture of how seed dispersal processes affect ecosystem functioning. We investigated the roles and impacts of two species of nocturnal omnivorous lemur species, <em>Microcebus</em> <em>jollyae</em> and <em>M. rufus</em>, on seed dispersal in Madagascar's rain forests, through analysis of fecal samples and germination experiments. Data show that these lemur species, which are among the world's smallest primates, dispersed 22 plant species from various forest strata and that the defecated seeds germinated faster and at higher rates than control seeds for the eight plant species we tested. Even though mouse lemurs dispersed both native and non-native plant species, non-native plant species represented a relatively small proportion (17%). These results demonstrate that overlooked nocturnal omnivores can act as important seed dispersers, which may have critical implications for forest regeneration and the maintenance of plant diversity in fragmented/degraded forests. Finally, we provide critical insights into the previously unobserved behavior and diet of endangered nocturnal lemurs for their effective conservation.</p>
Data from: Asymmetric contributions of seed and pollen to gene dispersal in the marsh orchid Dactylorhiza umbrosa in Asia Minor
<p>Orchids differ from other plants in their extremely small and partly air-filled seeds that can be transported long distances by wind. Seed dispersal in orchids is expected to contribute strongly to overall gene flow, and orchids generally express low levels of genetic differentiation between populations and low pollen to seed flow ratios. However, studies in orchids distributed in northern Europe have often found a poor geographic structuring of genetic variation. Here, we studied geographic differentiation in the marsh orchid <i>Dactylorhiza umbrosa</i>, which is widely distributed in upland regions from Asia Minor to Central Asia. These areas were less affected by Pleistocene ice ages than northern Europe and the orchid should have been able to survive the last ice age in local refugia. In the plastid genome, which is dispersed by seeds, populations at close distance were clearly divergent, but the differentiation still increased with geographic distance, and a significant phylogeographic structure had developed. In the nuclear genome, which is dispersed by both seeds and pollen, populations showed an even stronger correlation between genetic and geographic distance, but average levels of differentiation were lower than in the plastid genome, and no phylogeographic structure was evident. Combining plastid and nuclear data, we found that the ratio of pollen to seed dispersal (<i>mp/ms</i>) decreases with physical distance. Comparison with orchids that grow in parts of Europe that were glaciated during the last ice suggests that a balanced structure of genetic diversity develops only slowly in many terrestrial orchids, despite of efficient seed dispersal.</p>
The role of spines in anthropogenic seed dispersal on the Galápagos islands
<ol> <li><span>Dispersal has important ecological and evolutionary consequences for populations, but understanding the role of specific traits in dispersal can be difficult and requires careful experimentation. Moreover, understanding how humans alter dispersal is an important question, especially on oceanic islands where anthropogenic disturbance through species introductions can dramatically alter native ecosystems. </span></li> <li><span>In this study, we investigated the functional role of spines in seed dispersal of the plant caltrop (<i>Tribulus cistoides</i>L., Zygophyllaceae) by anthropogenic agents. We also tested whether anthropogenic or wildlife are more important seed dispersers of <i>T. cistoides </i>on the Galápagos. </span></li> <li><span><i>Tribulus cistoides</i>is found on tropical mainland and oceanic island habitats. The dispersal structure of <i>T. cistoides</i>is called a mericarp, and they are typically protected by one pair of upper spines and a second pair of lower spines, but the presence and size of spines varies within and between populations. On the Galápagos, the upper and lower spines protect mericarps from seed predation by Darwin's finches. We tested whether spines play a dual role in dispersal by factorially manipulating the presence/absence of the upper and lower spines to simulate the natural variation in mericarp morphology.</span></li> <li><span>The upper spines greatly facilitated seed dispersal, whereas the lower spines had no discernible effect on dispersal. The presence of upper spines increased dispersal rate on shoes by pedestrians 23-fold, on fabrics (e.g. towels) and cars by nearly 2-fold, and the presence of upper spines increased dispersal distance by cars 6-fold. When comparing dispersal rates in habitats with high (roads and foot paths) versus low (arid forest) anthropogenic activity, dispersal rates were demonstrably higher in the habitats with more human activity. </span></li> <li><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>These results have important implications for understanding the ecology and evolution of plant dispersal in the Anthropocene. Spines on the fruits of <i>T. cistoides</i>play important functional roles in anthropogenic dispersal, whereas native and introduced wildlife play a minor role in dispersal on inhabited islands of the Galápagos. Our results imply that seed predators and humans are jointly shaping the ecology and evolution of contemporary populations of <i>T. cistoides</i>on the Galápagos.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></li> </ol>
Data from: Conflicting selection on Cneorum tricoccon (Rutaceae) seed size caused by native and alien seed dispersers
The disappearance of native seed dispersers due to anthropogenic activities is often accompanied by the introduction of alien species, which may to some extent replace the ecological service provided by the extinct ones. Yet, little empirical evidence exists demonstrating the evolutionary consequences of such alien 'replacement'. Here, we document the conflicting selection exerted on seed size by two native lizards (Podarcis lilfordi and P. pityusensis) and an alien mammal species (Martes martes), all acting as legitimate seed dispersers of the Mediterranean relict Cneorum tricoccon. While lizards mostly exerted a negative directional selection on seed diameter, especially P. pityusensis, the much larger pine marten exerted positive selection on seed size. Our findings suggest that this among-disperser variation in the selection regimes, together with the occurrence of spatial variation in the presence of each of seed disperser, help to create the geographical variation observed for seed size of C. tricoccon. To our knowledge, this is the first empirical evidence showing opposing selective pressures between native and alien species in the seed dispersal process in an invaded ecosystem.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
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The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
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