SEED DISPERSAL AND SPATIAL-TEMPORAL VARIATION OF SEED PREDATION OF MUSA ACUMINATA IN XISHUANGBANNA, SOUTHWEST CHINA

doi:10.3773/j.issn.1005-264x.2008.01.015

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Seed dispersal and seed predation are important on mechanisms of forest maintenance and degeneration. Understanding them can enable effective conservation measures, especially in Xishuangbanna tropical rainforest in China which is suffering severe pressures.
Methods Musa acuminata is a large herbaceous plant in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province. We investigated seed dispersal and spatial-temporal variation of seed predation in three habitats (wild banana communities, virgin rainforest and open habitat) in three different sites of Xishuangbanna (XTBG, Xinshan and Bubeng). We used two treatments excluding ants and rodents and surveyed community structure of ants and rodents to explore the relationship between abundance of predators and intensity of seed predation.
Important findings Bats were the most important, effective seed disperser, and birds also played an important role in seed dispersal, with approximately 75% of the mature fruits of M. acuminata dispersed at night and about 25% during daytime. After primary dispersal, seeds of M. acuminata were mainly removed by small rodents and ants. This seed predation was significantly influenced by season, site and habitat. Seed predation was significantly stronger in rainy than dry seasons (p<0.001). Seed predation in M. acuminata communities was the highest among the three habitats (p<0.001), and seed predation in Bubeng Nature Reserve, which had the least disturbance, was significantly lower than the other two sites (which were not significantly different at p>0.05). Seed removal was generally consistent with the abundance of rodents and ants in different seasons, habitats and sites. The interaction between sites and habitats and the interaction among seasons, sites and habitats had significant effects on seed predation. Compared to nearby forest and open habitats, Musa communities had the most abundant rodents and the highest seed predation and the lowest proportion of secondary seed dispersal by ants. In contrast, seed predation by rodents in forest and open habitat was relatively weak and a large proportion of post dispersal seed was removed by ants. Therefore, primary seed dispersal mostly by bats and birds is essential for M. acuminata seeds to escape seed predation.

Key words: Musa acuminata, spatial-temporal variation, seed dispersal, seed removal, Xishuangbanna

MENG Ling-Zeng, GAO Xiu-Xia, CHEN Jin. SEED DISPERSAL AND SPATIAL-TEMPORAL VARIATION OF SEED PREDATION OF MUSA ACUMINATA IN XISHUANGBANNA, SOUTHWEST CHINA[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2008, 32(1): 133-142.

Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX

URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.3773/j.issn.1005-264x.2008.01.015

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2008/V32/I1/133

Figures/Tables 12

Table 1 Study sites and the general information

	地点1 Site1	地点2 Site2	地点3 Site3
位置 Location	XTBG	XS	BB
经纬度 Latitude & longitude	21°56' N, 101°15' E	21°50' N, 101°33' E	21°37' N, 101°35' E
海拔 Altitude (m)	570	960	680
野芭蕉群落面积 Area of Musa communities (hm²)	2~3	3~4	4~5

Fig.1 Illustration of the observation for seed dispersal of Musa acuminata

Fig.2 Proportion of fruit removed under different treatment during day and night respectively

Fig.3 Percentage of seed remained under different treatment (indicated by the percentage of seed remained)

Fig.4 The effect of different season (Fig. a: Ndry season=360, Nrainy season=270), different site(Fig. b: N=210), different habitat (Fig. c: N=210) and the interaction between site and habitat (Fig. d: N=70) on the secondary seed dispersal of Musa acuminata under open treatment (indicated by percentage of seed remained) Data are means±SE, bars with different letters are significantly different (p<0.05) S represents different site, 1, 2 and 3 means Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Xinshan and Bubeng respectively; M represents different habitat, 1, 2 and 3 means Musa community (WB), Forest (FR) and Open habitat (OH)

Table 3 MVA of the effects of season, site and habitat on the secondary seed dispersal of Musa acuminata under ants excluded treatment

	df	MS	F	p
季节 Season	1	35.493	3.112	0.078^ns
地点 Site	2	180.322	15.809	0.000^***
生境 Habitat	2	188.358	16.513	0.000^***
季节×地点 Season×site	2	170.986	14.990	0.000^***
季节×生境 Season×habitat	2	47.431	4.158	0.016^*
地点×生境 Site×habitat	4	196.191	17.200	0.000^***
季节×地点×生境 Season×site×habitat	4	115.888	10.160	0.000^***
误差 Error	612	11.407
合计 Total	630

Fig.5 The effect of different site (Fig. a:N=210) and different habitat (Fig. b: N=210) on the secondary seed dispersal of Musa acuminata under ants excluded treatment (indicated by percentage of seed remained) Data are means±SE, Bars with different letters are significantly different (p<0.05) XTBG、XS、BB、WB、FR、OH: See Fig. 4

Fig.6 The effect of different site (Fig. a:N=210)and different habitat (Fig. b: N=210) on the secondary seed dispersal of Musa acuminata under rats excluded treatment (indicated by percentage of seed remained) Data are means±SE, Bars with different letters are significantly different (p<0.05) XTBG、XS、BB、WB、FR、OH: See Fig. 4

Table 4 MVA of the effects of season, site and habitat on the secondary seed dispersal of Musa acuminata under rats excluded treatment

	df	MS	F	p-value
季节 Season	1	29.484	2.506	0.039^*
地点 Site	2	115.053	9.660	0.000^***
生境 Habitat	2	167.416	14.057	0.000^***
季节×地点 Season×site	2	113.519	9.531	0.000^***
季节×生境 Season×habitat	2	43.911	3.687	0.026^*
地点×生境 Site×habitat	4	29.142	2.447	0.045^*
季节×地点×生境 Season×site×habitat	4	155.547	13.060	0.000^***
误差 Error	612	11.910
合计 Total	630

Table 2 MVA of the effects of season, site and habitat on the secondary seed dispersal of Musa acuminata under open treatment

	df	MS	F	p
季节 Season	1	274.667	31.286	0.000^***
地点 Site	2	47.114	5.366	0.005^**
生境 Habitat	2	111.905	12.746	0.000^***
季节×地点 Season×site	2	0.879	0.100	0.905^ns
季节×生境 Season×habitat	2	11.804	1.344	0.261^ns
地点×生境 Site×habitat	4	43.776	4.986	0.001^***
季节×地点×生境 Season×site×habitat	4	36.703	4.181	0.002^**
误差 Error	612	8.779
合计 Total	630

Fig.7 The effect of season and site interaction (Fig. a: Ndry season=360,Nrainy season=270), season and habitat interaction (Fig. b: Ndry season=360,Nrainy season=270), site and habitat interaction (Fig. c: N=70) on the secondary seed dispersal of Musa acuminata under ants excluded and rats excluded treatment (indicated by percentage of seed remained) Data are means±SE, bars with different letters are significantly different (p<0.05). D and R represents dry and rainy season respectively; S represents different site, 1, 2 and 3 means Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Xinshan and Bubeng respectively; M represents different habitat, 1, 2 and 3 mean Musa community, forest and open habitat

Table 5 Species number and amount of rats and ants in different season, site and habitat

种类 Species		旱季 Dry season	雨季 Rain season	XTBG	XS	BB	野芭蕉群落 Musa community	森林 Forest	荒地 Open habitat	合计 Total
鼠类 Rats	物种数 Number of species	8	5	6	5	7	8	4	4	9
	个体总数 Total amounts	47	50	32	30	35	48	42	7	97
蚁类 Ants	物种数 Number of species	72	53	46	64	49	41	49	61	104
	个体总数 Total amounts	1 778	822	469	1 310	821	491	411	1 698	2 600

References 37

[1]	Allmen CV, Morellato LPC, Pizo MA (2004). Seed predation under high seed density condition: the palm Euterpe edulis in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 20, 471-474.
[2]	Baker HG (1974). The evolution of weeds. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 5, 1-24.
[3]	Basu P (1997). Seasonal and spatial patterns in ground foraging ants in a rainforest in the western Ghats, India. Biotropica, 29, 489-500.
[4]	Benkman CW, Parchman TL, Favis A, Siepielski AM (2003). Reciprocal selection causes a coevolutionary arms race between crossbills and lodgepole pine. The American Naturalist, 162, 182-194.
[5]	Brewer SW (2001). Predation and dispersal of large and small seeds of a tropical palm. Oikos, 92, 245-255.
[6]	Chen F (陈帆), Chen J (陈进), Liu ZQ (刘志秋), Zhang L (张玲), Liu Y (刘勇), Bai ZL (白智林) (2004). The role of ants in seed dispersal of Globba lancangensis and the spatial distribution of its seedlings. Acta Phytoecologica Sinica (植物生态学报), 28, 210-217. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[7]	Connell JH (1971). On the role of natural enemies in preventing competitive exclusion in some marine animals and in rain forest trees. In: den Boer BJ, Gradwell GR eds. Dynamics of Population. Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation, Wageningen, 298-310.
[8]	Davidson DW, Morton SR (1981). Myrmecochory in some plants (F. Chenopodiaceae) of the Australian arid zone. Oecologia, 50, 357-366.
[9]	Díaz M (1992). Spatial and temporal patterns of granivorous ant seed predation in patchy cereal crop areas of central Spain. Oecologia, 91, 561-568.
[10]	Elangovan V, Marimuthu G, Kunz TH (1999). Temporal patterns of individual and group foraging behaviour in the short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx, in South India. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 15, 681-687.
[11]	Fedriani JM, Manzaneda AJ (2005). Pre- and postdispersal seed predation by rodents: balance of food and safety. Behavioral Ecology, 16, 1018-1024.
[12]	Forget PM, Milleron T (1991). Evidence for secondary seed dispersal by rodents in Panama. Oecologia, 87, 596-599.
[13]	García-Casta†o JL, Kollmann J, Jordano P (2006). Spatial variation of post-dispersal seed removal by rodents in highland microhabitats of Spain and Switzerland. Seed Science Research, 16, 213-222.
[14]	Howe HF, Smallwood J (1982). Ecology of seed dispersal. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 13, 201-228.
[15]	Hulme PE (1993). Post-dispersal seed predation by small mammals. Symposium of the Zoological Society of London, 65, 269-287.
[16]	Hulme PE (1994). Post-dispersal seed predation in grassland: its magnitude and sources of variation. Journal of Ecology, 82, 645-652.
[17]	Hulme PE, Kollmann J (2005). Seed predator guilds, spatial variation in post-dispersal seed predation and potential effects on plant demography- a temperate perspective. In: Forget PM, Lambert JE, Hulme PE, van der Wall SB eds. Seed Fate: Predation, Dispersal and Seedling Establishment. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, 9-30.
[18]	Janzen DH (1970). Herbivores and the number of tree species in tropical forests. American Naturalist, 104, 501-528.
[19]	Janzen DH (1971). Seed predation by animals. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 2, 465-492.
[20]	Leal IR, Oliveira PS (1998). Interactions between fungus-growing ants (Attini), fruits and seeds in Cerrado vegetation in Southeast Brazil. Biotropica, 30, 170-178.
[21]	Levey DJ, Byrne MM (1993). Complex ant-plant interactions: rain-forest ants as secondary dispersers and post-dispersal seed predators. Ecology, 74, 1802-1812.
[22]	Liu AZ (刘爱忠) (2001). Phylogeny and Biogeography of Musaceae (芭蕉科植物的系统演化与生物地理学). PhD dissertation, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[23]	Manson RH, Stiles EW (1998). Links between microhabitat preferences and seed predation by small mammals in old fields. Oikos, 82, 37-50.
[24]	Medellín RA, Gaona O (1999). Seed dispersal by bats and birds in forest and disturbed habitats of Chiapas, México. Biotropica, 31, 478-485.
[25]	Myster RW (2003). Effects of species, density, patch-type, and season on post-dispersal seed predation in a Puerto-Rican pasture. Biotropica, 35, 542-546.
[26]	Robinson JV, Dickerson JE Jr (1987). Does invasion sequence affect community structure? Ecology, 68, 587-595.
[27]	Schupp EW, Fuentes M (1995). Spatial patterns of seed dispersal and the unification of plant population ecology. Ecoscience, 2, 267-275.
[28]	Shepherd VE, Chapman CA (1998). Dung beetles as secondary seed dispersers: impact on seed predation and germination. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 14, 199-215.
[29]	Shugart HH (1998). Terrestrial Ecosystems in Changing Environments. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 103-143.
[30]	Simmonds NW (1962). The Evolution of the Bananas. Longmans, Green & Co. Ltd., London.
[31]	Tang ZH (唐占辉), Cao M (曹敏), Sheng LX (盛连喜), Liang B (梁冰), Zhang SY (张树义) (2005). Fruit consumption and seed dispersal of wild banana Musa acuminata by short-nosed fruit bat Cynopterus sphinx. Acta Zoologica Sinica (动物学报), 51, 608-615. (in Chinese with English abstract)
[32]	Thomas DW, Cloutier D, Provencher M, Houle C (1988). The shape of bird- and bat-generated seed shadows around a tropical fruiting tree. Biotropica, 20, 347-348.
[33]	van der Pijl L (1982). Principles of Dispersal in Higher Plants 3rd eds. Springer-Verlag, New York, 214.
[34]	van der Wall SB, Kuhn KM, Gworek JR (2005). Two phase seed dispersal: linking the effects of frugivorous birds and seed-caching rodents. Oecologia, 145, 282-287. URL PMID
[35]	van der Wall SB, Longland WS (2004). Diplochory: are two seed dispersers better than one? Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 19, 155-161.
[36]	Wang BC, Smith TB (2002). Closing the seed dispersal loop. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 17, 379-385.
[37]	Whitmore TC (1984). Tropical Rain Forest of the Far East 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, London.