TY  - JOUR
A1  - Türke, Manfred
A1  - Andreas, Kerstin
A1  - Gossner, Martin M.
A1  - Kowalski, Esther
A1  - Lange, Markus
A1  - Boch, Steffen
A1  - Socher, Stephanie A.
A1  - Müller, Jörg
A1  - Prati, Daniel
A1  - Fischer, Markus
A1  - Meyhöfer, Rainer
A1  - Weisser, Wolfgang W.
T1  - Are gastropods, rather than ants, important dispersers of seeds of myrmecochorous forest herbs?
JF  - The American naturalist : a bi-monthly journal devoted to the advancement and correlation of the biological sciences
N2  - Seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) is widespread, and seed adaptations to myrmecochory are common, especially in the form of fatty appendices (elaiosomes). In a recent study, slugs were identified as seed dispersers of myrmecochores in a central European beech forest. Here we used 105 beech forest sites to test whether myrmecochore presence and abundance is related to ant or gastropod abundance and whether experimentally exposed seeds are removed by gastropods. Myrmecochorous plant cover was positively related to gastropod abundance but was negatively related to ant abundance. Gastropods were responsible for most seed removal and elaiosome damage, whereas insects (and rodents) played minor roles. These gastropod effects on seeds were independent of region or forest management. We suggest that terrestrial gastropods can generally act as seed dispersers of myrmecochorous plants and even substitute myrmecochory, especially where ants are absent or uncommon.
KW  - myrmecochory
KW  - gastropodochory
KW  - Arion
KW  - slug
KW  - seed dispersal
Y1  - 2012
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1086/663195
SN  - 0003-0147
VL  - 179
IS  - 1
SP  - 124
EP  - 131
PB  - Univ. of Chicago Press
CY  - Chicago
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Stiegler, Jonas
A1  - Kiemel, Katrin
A1  - Eccard, Jana
A1  - Fischer, Christina
A1  - Hering, Robert
A1  - Ortmann, Sylvia
A1  - Strigl, Lea
A1  - Tiedemann, Ralph
T1  - Seed traits matter
BT  - Endozoochoric dispersal through a pervasive mobile linker
JF  - Ecology and Evolution
N2  - Although many plants are dispersed by wind and seeds can travel long distances across unsuitable matrix areas, a large proportion relies on co-evolved zoochorous seed dispersal to connect populations in isolated habitat islands. Particularly in agricultural landscapes, where remaining habitat patches are often very small and highly isolated, mobile linkers as zoochorous seed dispersers are critical for the population dynamics of numerous plant species. However, knowledge about the quali- or quantification of such mobile link processes, especially in agricultural landscapes, is still limited. In a controlled feeding experiment, we recorded the seed intake and germination success after complete digestion by the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and explored its mobile link potential as an endozoochoric seed disperser. Utilizing a suite of common, rare, and potentially invasive plant species, we disentangled the effects of seed morphological traits on germination success while controlling for phylogenetic relatedness. Further, we measured the landscape connectivity via hares in two contrasting agricultural landscapes (simple: few natural and semi-natural structures, large fields; complex: high amount of natural and semi-natural structures, small fields) using GPS-based movement data. With 34,710 seeds of 44 plant species fed, one of 200 seeds (0.51%) with seedlings of 33 species germinated from feces. Germination after complete digestion was positively related to denser seeds with comparatively small surface area and a relatively slender and elongated shape, suggesting that, for hares, the most critical seed characteristics for successful endozoochorous seed dispersal minimize exposure of the seed to the stomach and the associated digestive system. Furthermore, we could show that a hare's retention time is long enough to interconnect different habitats, especially grasslands and fields. Thus, besides other seed dispersal mechanisms, this most likely allows hares to act as effective mobile linkers contributing to ecosystem stability in times of agricultural intensification, not only in complex but also in simple landscapes.
KW  - agricultural landscapes
KW  - endozoochory
KW  - Lepus europaeus
KW  - mobile links
KW  - seed dispersal
KW  - seed dispersal syndrome
Y1  - 2021
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8440
SN  - 2045-7758
VL  - 11
IS  - 24
SP  - 18477
EP  - 18491
PB  - John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Stiegler, Jonas
A1  - Kiemel, Katrin
A1  - Eccard, Jana
A1  - Fischer, Christina
A1  - Hering, Robert
A1  - Ortmann, Sylvia
A1  - Strigl, Lea
A1  - Tiedemann, Ralph
A1  - Ullmann, Wiebke
A1  - Blaum, Niels
T1  - Seed traits matter
BT  - endozoochoric dispersal through a pervasive mobile linker
JF  - Ecology and evolution
N2  - Although many plants are dispersed by wind and seeds can travel long distances across unsuitable matrix areas, a large proportion relies on co-evolved zoochorous seed dispersal to connect populations in isolated habitat islands. Particularly in agricultural landscapes, where remaining habitat patches are often very small and highly isolated, mobile linkers as zoochorous seed dispersers are critical for the population dynamics of numerous plant species. However, knowledge about the quali- or quantification of such mobile link processes, especially in agricultural landscapes, is still limited. In a controlled feeding experiment, we recorded the seed intake and germination success after complete digestion by the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and explored its mobile link potential as an endozoochoric seed disperser. Utilizing a suite of common, rare, and potentially invasive plant species, we disentangled the effects of seed morphological traits on germination success while controlling for phylogenetic relatedness. Further, we measured the landscape connectivity via hares in two contrasting agricultural landscapes (simple: few natural and semi-natural structures, large fields; complex: high amount of natural and semi-natural structures, small fields) using GPS-based movement data. With 34,710 seeds of 44 plant species fed, one of 200 seeds (0.51%) with seedlings of 33 species germinated from feces. Germination after complete digestion was positively related to denser seeds with comparatively small surface area and a relatively slender and elongated shape, suggesting that, for hares, the most critical seed characteristics for successful endozoochorous seed dispersal minimize exposure of the seed to the stomach and the associated digestive system. Furthermore, we could show that a hare's retention time is long enough to interconnect different habitats, especially grasslands and fields. Thus, besides other seed dispersal mechanisms, this most likely allows hares to act as effective mobile linkers contributing to ecosystem stability in times of agricultural intensification, not only in complex but also in simple landscapes.
KW  - agricultural landscapes
KW  - endozoochory
KW  - Lepus europaeus
KW  - mobile links
KW  - seed dispersal
KW  - seed dispersal syndrome
Y1  - 2021
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8440
SN  - 2045-7758
VL  - 11
IS  - 24
SP  - 18477
EP  - 18491
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  -