首页|Bulbuls and crows provide complementary seed dispersal for China's endangered trees

Bulbuls and crows provide complementary seed dispersal for China's endangered trees

扫码查看
原文链接
  • 国家科技期刊平台
  • NETL
  • NSTL
  • 万方数据
Background: Different functional frugivores generally exhibit unequal contributions, both in terms of quantity (seed removal) and quality (seedling recruitment), to effective seed dispersal of plant species. However, variations in this dispersal pattern generated by frugivores across different regions are still unknown. Methods: In our study, we evaluated the contributions of two functional frugivore bird groups, the bulbuls (Pycnon-otidae) and crows (Corvidae), in both the seed removal and seedling recruitment of the endangered Chinese yew tree (Taxus chinensis) across three different geographical regions in eastern China. Results: The dominant crow species, Urocissa erythrorhyncha, was the most common disperser crow species at all sites, while the dominant bulbul species varied across the three sites. Furthermore, the two functional groups of dispersers diverged in the aspects of seed removal (quantity) and seedling recruitment pattern (quality). While bulbuls outperformed crows in seed removal (quantity), crows took more seeds to a safer site for seedlings (quality). Conclusions: Our results highlight the importance of variations in the effective seed dispersal patterns of different functional disperser groups across different regions in the conservation and management of endangered tree species.

Complementary seed dispersalEffective seed dispersalSeed removalSeedling recruitmentTaxus chinensis

Bing Bai、Ning Li、Xinhai Li、Changhu Lu

展开 >

Yunnan Forestry Technological College, Kunming 650224, China

College of Food Science, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing 211171, Jiangsu, China

Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Laboratory of Plant-Animal Interactions, College of Forest Resources and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China

展开 >

study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNatural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, ChinaProject of PhD Fund of Yunnan Forestry Technological CollegeYunnan province project Education Fund

31700468BK2017636KYBS2014042014Y568

2017

10.1186/s40657-017-0089-y

鸟类学研究(英文版)
北京林业大学

鸟类学研究(英文版)

CSCD
影响因子：0.553
ISSN：2055-6187
年,卷(期)：2017.8(4)
  • 27