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Importance of species traits on individual-based seed dispersal networks and dispersal distance for endangered trees in a fragmented forest

Although mutualistic network analyses have sparked a renewed interest in the patterns and drivers of network structures within communities, few studies have explored structural patterns within populations. In an endangered tree species population, plant individuals share their bird seed dispersers;...

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Autores principales: Li, Ning, Yang, Xifu, Ren, Yuanhao, Wang, Zheng
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9534520/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36212316
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1010352
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author Li, Ning
Yang, Xifu
Ren, Yuanhao
Wang, Zheng
author_facet Li, Ning
Yang, Xifu
Ren, Yuanhao
Wang, Zheng
author_sort Li, Ning
collection PubMed
description Although mutualistic network analyses have sparked a renewed interest in the patterns and drivers of network structures within communities, few studies have explored structural patterns within populations. In an endangered tree species population, plant individuals share their bird seed dispersers; however, the factors affecting individual interaction patterns are poorly understood. In this study, four individual-based networks were built for the endangered Chinese yew, Taxus chinensis, in a fragmented forest based on bird foraging type (swallowing and pecking networks) and habitat type (networks in a bamboo patch and an evergreen broad-leaved forest patch). Species-level network metrics (species degree and specialization, d’) were used to evaluate the effects of species traits (bird and plant traits) on species-level networks and dispersal distance for T. chinensis. It was revealed that the interaction networks between T. chinensis individuals and their bird partners were influenced by foraging type and the habitat of plant distribution. Compared to the other two networks, bird swallowing and bird–fruit networks in the evergreen broad-leaved patch habitat had higher nestedness and connectance but lower modules and specialization. Bird (body weight and wing and bill lengths) and plant traits (height, crop size, and cover) significantly affected species-level network metrics such as degree and specialization. Furthermore, seed dispersal distance was influenced by species traits and the species-level metrics of fruit–bird interaction networks. These results provide new insights into individual-based seed dispersal mutualistic networks of endangered plant species under habitat fragmentation. Moreover, these findings have relevant implications for conserving and managing individual endangered trees in increasingly disturbed ecosystems.
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spelling pubmed-95345202022-10-06 Importance of species traits on individual-based seed dispersal networks and dispersal distance for endangered trees in a fragmented forest Li, Ning Yang, Xifu Ren, Yuanhao Wang, Zheng Front Plant Sci Plant Science Although mutualistic network analyses have sparked a renewed interest in the patterns and drivers of network structures within communities, few studies have explored structural patterns within populations. In an endangered tree species population, plant individuals share their bird seed dispersers; however, the factors affecting individual interaction patterns are poorly understood. In this study, four individual-based networks were built for the endangered Chinese yew, Taxus chinensis, in a fragmented forest based on bird foraging type (swallowing and pecking networks) and habitat type (networks in a bamboo patch and an evergreen broad-leaved forest patch). Species-level network metrics (species degree and specialization, d’) were used to evaluate the effects of species traits (bird and plant traits) on species-level networks and dispersal distance for T. chinensis. It was revealed that the interaction networks between T. chinensis individuals and their bird partners were influenced by foraging type and the habitat of plant distribution. Compared to the other two networks, bird swallowing and bird–fruit networks in the evergreen broad-leaved patch habitat had higher nestedness and connectance but lower modules and specialization. Bird (body weight and wing and bill lengths) and plant traits (height, crop size, and cover) significantly affected species-level network metrics such as degree and specialization. Furthermore, seed dispersal distance was influenced by species traits and the species-level metrics of fruit–bird interaction networks. These results provide new insights into individual-based seed dispersal mutualistic networks of endangered plant species under habitat fragmentation. Moreover, these findings have relevant implications for conserving and managing individual endangered trees in increasingly disturbed ecosystems. Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-09-21 /pmc/articles/PMC9534520/ /pubmed/36212316 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1010352 Text en Copyright © 2022 Li, Yang, Ren and Wang https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Plant Science
Li, Ning
Yang, Xifu
Ren, Yuanhao
Wang, Zheng
Importance of species traits on individual-based seed dispersal networks and dispersal distance for endangered trees in a fragmented forest
title Importance of species traits on individual-based seed dispersal networks and dispersal distance for endangered trees in a fragmented forest
title_full Importance of species traits on individual-based seed dispersal networks and dispersal distance for endangered trees in a fragmented forest
title_fullStr Importance of species traits on individual-based seed dispersal networks and dispersal distance for endangered trees in a fragmented forest
title_full_unstemmed Importance of species traits on individual-based seed dispersal networks and dispersal distance for endangered trees in a fragmented forest
title_short Importance of species traits on individual-based seed dispersal networks and dispersal distance for endangered trees in a fragmented forest
title_sort importance of species traits on individual-based seed dispersal networks and dispersal distance for endangered trees in a fragmented forest
topic Plant Science
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9534520/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36212316
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1010352
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