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The effects of seed abundance on seed predation and dispersal by rodents in Castanopsis fargesii (Fagaceae)

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Abstract

Based on the animal dispersal hypothesis and the predator satiation hypothesis, we examined the effects of seed abundance at both population (i.e., mast seeding) and community levels on seed predation and dispersal of Castanopsis fargesii (Fagaceae), a rodent-dispersed mast species in Eastern Asia. In a subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest in the Dujiangyan region of Sichuan Province, China, individual seeds with coded tin tags were tracked in two contrasting stands (seed-poor and seed-rich) over two years (2000, a low-seed year; 2001, a high-seed year). Our results showed that: (1) small rodents did not harvest the tagged seeds of C. fargesii more rapid in the high-seed year than in the low-seed year in either stand. But, seed harvest was significantly faster in the seed-rich stand than in the seed-poor stand. (2) The removal proportion was significantly lower in the high-seed year than in the low-seed year for either stand, but the removal proportion was slightly higher in the seed-poor stand than in the seed-poor stand. This indicates that high seed abundance decreases seed removal (predator satiation hypothesis). (3) There were only small differences about seed caching, seed survival and seedling establishment of C. fargesii between years and stands. During the survey, no cached seeds survived to geminate in the spring for both stands and years. (4) Mean dispersal distances of the cached seeds are much shorter in the high-seed year (3.1 m) than in the low-seed year (8.1 m) in the seed-rich stand, though similar trend is not examined in the seed-poor stand. Our results indicate that seed predation and dispersal of C. fargesii are influenced by both mast seeding and community-level seed abundance, which is not completely consistent with either the animal dispersal hypothesis or the predator satiation hypothesis, but seems more related to the predator satiation hypothesis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beisihuanxilu 25, Haidian District, Beijing, 100080, China

    Zhishu Xiao, Zhibin Zhang & Yushan Wang

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  1. Zhishu Xiao
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  2. Zhibin Zhang
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  3. Yushan Wang
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Correspondence to Zhibin Zhang.

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Xiao, Z., Zhang, Z. & Wang, Y. The effects of seed abundance on seed predation and dispersal by rodents in Castanopsis fargesii (Fagaceae). Plant Ecol 177, 249–257 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-005-2321-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-005-2321-9

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