Rodent seed predation and seedling recruitment in mesic grassland

Oecologia ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Edwards ◽  
M. J. Crawley
Keyword(s):  
Seed Predation ◽  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Mesic Grassland

Population biology of Microlaena stipoides in a south-eastern Australian pasture

2014 ◽  
Vol 65 (8) ◽  
pp. 767 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Mitchell ◽  
J. M. Virgona ◽  
J. L. Jacobs ◽  
D. R. Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Seed Predation ◽  
Population Biology ◽  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Seed Rain ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Microlaena Stipoides

Microlaena (Microlaena stipoides var. stipoides (Labill.) R.Br.) is a C3 perennial grass that is native to areas of south-eastern Australia. In this region, perennial grasses are important for the grazing industries because of their extended growing season and persistence over several years. This series of experiments focused on the population biology of Microlaena by studying the phenology (when seed was set), seed rain (how much seed was produced and where it fell), seed germination, germinable seedbank, seed predation and seedling recruitment in a pasture. Experiments were conducted at Chiltern, in north-eastern Victoria, on an existing native grass pasture dominated by Microlaena. Seed yields were substantial (mean 800 seeds m–2), with seed rain occurring over December–May. Microlaena has two distinct periods of high seed rain, in early summer and in early autumn. Seed predation is high. Within a 24-h period during peak seed production, up to 30% of Microlaena seed was removed from a pasture, primarily by ants. Microlaena seedlings recruited throughout an open paddock; however, seedling density was low (5 seedlings m–2). Microlaena represented only low numbers in the seedbank (0.01–0.05% of total); hence, any seedlings of Microlaena that germinate from the seedbank would face immense competition from other species. Management strategies for Microlaena-dominant pastures need to focus on the maintenance of existing plants.

scholarly journals Measuring the net outcome of conditional mutualism: a case study with oaks and scatterhoarding rodents

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Bogdziewicz ◽  
Elizabeth E. Crone ◽  
Rafał Zwolak
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Seed Predation ◽  
Short Distance ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Quercus Petraea ◽  
Simple Mathematical Model ◽  
Vital Rates ◽  
Plant Establishment

AbstractNumerous interactions between plants and animals vary in their outcome between antagonism and mutualism, but it has proven to be difficult to quantify their final outcome. Interactions between plants and scatterhoarding animals provide a prime example of this phenomenon. Scatterhoarders consume large quantities of seeds (potentially reducing plant establishment), yet also disperse seeds and bury them in shallow caches (potentially improving recruitment). However, it has been rarely determined which role prevails for particular plant species. We demonstrate how plant-scatterhoarder interactions can be placed at the antagonism-mutualism continuum, with interactions between rodents and two oaks species (sessile oak Quercus petraea, and red oak Q. rubra) as an empirical example. Our approach consists of quantifying the net outcome of the interaction through assembling different vital rates (e.g. probability of seedling recruitment with and without rodents; near and far from conspecific trees; with and without seed pilferage) piecewise with a simple mathematical model. Our results indicate that during the period of the study, interactions between scatterhoarding rodents and both focal oaks were antagonistic. Even though acorn burial increased the likelihood of seedling establishment, this effect was not strong enough to compensate for the costs of seed predation. Furthermore, we found no evidence that the short-distance transportation that is usually provided by small mammals benefited early oak recruitment. Our study demonstrates how readily accessible field data can be used to gauge the outcomes in conditional mutualisms.

Predispersal seed predation and population dynamics in the perennial understorey herb Actaea spicata

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (11) ◽  
pp. 1058-1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heléne Fröborg ◽  
Ove Eriksson
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Seed Predation ◽  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Transition Probabilities ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Perennial Herb ◽  
Seed Predator ◽  
Predispersal Seed Predation ◽  
The Impact

Predispersal seed predation by a moth larva, Eupithecia immundata Leinig & Zeller (Geometridae), and its impact on population dynamics of the perennial herb Actaea spicata L. were studied during 7 years in deciduous and mixed coniferous forest populations in southeastern Sweden. Twelve population matrix models were constructed based on transition probabilities among six stage classes in the populations. The fraction of seeds consumed varied between 21% and 80% but was not significantly correlated with seed production. Experimental seed addition compensating for seed losses caused by the seed predator resulted in increased seedling emergence in one of the populations. Population growth rate was positive (λ > 1) in 1 of 6 years in the deciduous forest population and in 2 of 6 years in the mixed coniferous forest population. Survival among reproductive individuals contributed most strongly to λ in both populations. In some years, the projected λ changed from positive to negative values because of seed loss caused by E. immundata. However, results suggest that seed predation did not affect λ to any large extent, despite a considerable seed predation. This study is one of the rare efforts to estimate the impact of seed predation on population dynamics of perennial plants.Key words: Actaea spicata, demography, population dynamics, predispersal seed predation, seedling recruitment.

Postdispersal seed predation of white spruce in cutblocks in the boreal mixedwoods: a short-term experimental study

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 907-915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan H Peters ◽  
S Ellen Macdonald ◽  
Stan Boutin ◽  
Richard A Moses
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Seed Predation ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
Seed Loss ◽  
Boreal Mixedwoods ◽  
Initial Seed

We conducted a 1-year study to examine the influence of postdispersal seed predation by small mammals and other vertebrate predators on seedling recruitment rates (percentage of seeds surviving to seedling stage) and seed loss of white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) in recently logged areas in the boreal mixedwood forest in north-central Alberta. Experimental exclosures showed that predators reduced recruitment rates, on average, by 46% for seeds exposed to predation for 6 weeks in the summer and by 79% for seeds exposed to predation between autumn (seed dispersal) and the following summer (germination). We were unable to detect an influence of initial seed density on recruitment rates. A seed tray experiment suggested that predators can detect and consume 80%–94% of white spruce seeds available in cutblocks within 1 month of sowing and that seed predation rates do not vary predictably with distance from the cutblock–forest edge. Our results suggest that vertebrate seed predators, especially small mammals, have the potential to severely affect recruitment rates of white spruce in recent cutblocks, although long-term work is needed to understand how predators might affect recruitment under natural conditions with predator and seed densities that vary in space and time.

Herbivores, seed banks and seedling recruitment in mesic grassland

1999 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Edwards ◽  
M. J. Crawley
Keyword(s):  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Seed Banks ◽  
Mesic Grassland
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