食果动物传播植物种子的有效性

Seed dispersal effectiveness of plant by frugivores: A review

传播有效性是评估食果动物对植物种群更新贡献的关键指标,它决定了植物种群的续存,影响着群落生物多样性的维系。本文从种子传播数量、质量角度分析了影响动物传播有效性的因素,并从有效传播动物组合角度分析了其对植物种群更新的影响。传播数量的多少与动物的取食行为有关。以整吞取食的食果动物常被认为是植物的有效传播动物,而植物的果实为动物偏好选择的食物时,势必导致该种植物拥有高的种子传播数量。传播质量与食果动物肠道种子滞留时间以及其后的种子传播距离和排放地相关。体型较大、生境适应能力和迁徙性较强的动物常为植物提供较远的传播距离,而被认为传播质量较高。取食后动物的生境选择决定了种子的排放地,进而影响它们的种子传播质量。如果取食后动物偏好利用植物适宜更新的生境时,动物则拥有较高的传播质量。有效传播动物通常在传播数量和传播质量以互补形成一些组合对植物种群更新起贡献。今后工作应将动物行为野外监测和种子萌发实验相结合、取食后多种行为相结合来分析动物的传播有效性;而以一些国内特有濒危植物为研究对象开展传播有效性研究应是今后恢复生态学研究的重点。

Seed dispersal effectiveness is an important issue for quantifying the contribution of frugivores to plant regeneration, which shapes the persistence of plant population and maintains biodiversity of community. This paper summarized the affecting factors for dispersal effectiveness from two parts： seed dispersal quantity and seed dispersal quality. It also analyzed the effects of effective disperser assemblage on plant regeneration. Seed dispersal quantity is affected by the for- aging behavior of frugivores. The animal that has a swallowing food-treating behavior is recognized as the effective disperser. Moreover, the fruit preferred by frugivores always causes the plant to get a higher dispersal quantity. The part of seed dispersal quality could be shaped by gut passage time, seed dispersal distance and seed deposition sites of frugivores. Frugivores with large body size, high ability in habitat adaptation and migration are always recognized to be high-quality dis- persers because of their longer dispersal distance for plant recruitment. Moreover, the post-fora- ging habitat selection by frugivores could determine the seed deposition sites thus affecting their dispersal quality. A high-quality disperser always uses the recruitment site of plants thus deposits most seeds into the recruitment site. Different, effective dispersers show complementary roles in plant recruitment on both dispersal quantity and quality. Future researches addressing how to in- corporate field monitoring of animal behavior and experiment of seed germination or to combine multiple post-foraging behaviors of animals are needed to investigate seed dispersal effectiveness.Moreover, exploring seed dispersal effectiveness of the endangered and endemic plants in China should be given great consideration in the study of restoration ecology.