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Seed type, habitat and time of day influence post-dispersal seed removal in temperate ecosystems

Wehner, Katja ; Schäfer, Lea ; Blüthgen, Nico ; Mody, Karsten (2020)
Seed type, habitat and time of day influence post-dispersal seed removal in temperate ecosystems.
In: PeerJ, 2020, 8
doi: 10.25534/tuprints-00011575
Article, Secondary publication

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Item Type: Article
Type of entry: Secondary publication
Title: Seed type, habitat and time of day influence post-dispersal seed removal in temperate ecosystems
Language: English
Date: 2020
Year of primary publication: 2020
Publisher: PeerJ
Journal or Publication Title: PeerJ
Volume of the journal: 8
DOI: 10.25534/tuprints-00011575
URL / URN: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8769
Origin: Secondary publication via sponsored Golden Open Access
Abstract:

Seed survival is of great importance for the performance of plant species and it is strongly affected by post-dispersal seed removal by either different animals such as granivorous species and secondary dispersers or abiotic conditions such as wind or water. The success of post-dispersal seed removal depends on seed specific traits including seed size, the presence of coats or elaiosomes, the mode of seed dispersion, and on the habitat in which seeds happen to arrive. In the present study we asked how seed traits (dehulled vs. intact; size; dispersal mode), habitat (forest vs. grassland), and time of day (night vs. day) influence post-dispersal seed removal of the four plant species Chelidonium majus, Lotus corniculatus, Tragopogon pratensis and Helianthus annuus. Seed removal experiments were performed in three regions in Hesse, Germany. The results showed different, inconsistent influences of time of day, depending on habitat and region, but consistent variation across seed types. C. majus and dehulled H. annuus seeds had the fastest removal rates. The impact of the habitat on post-dispersal seed removal was very low, only intact H. annuus seeds were removed at significantly higher rates in grasslands than in forests. Our study demonstrates consistent differences across seed types across different habitats and time: smaller seeds and those dispersed by animals had a faster removal rate. It further highlights that experimental studies need to consider seeds in their natural form to be most realistic.

URN: urn:nbn:de:tuda-tuprints-115755
Classification DDC: 500 Science and mathematics > 570 Life sciences, biology
Divisions: 10 Department of Biology > Ecological Networks
Date Deposited: 24 Mar 2020 10:07
Last Modified: 24 Mar 2020 10:07
URI: https://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/id/eprint/11575
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