title: [Animal predation and dispersal of Sorbus pohuashanensis fruits and seeds].
abstract: Sorbus pohuashanensis is an important non-timber tree species in Northeast China. There are two approaches for its fruit- and seed dispersal, i. e. , natural dispersal and animal dispersal. In this paper, a field observation was conducted to study the characteristics of animal predation and dispersal of S. pohuashanensis fruits and seeds, and the effects of the predation and dispersal on the natural regeneration of the tree species. During the fruit-ripening stage of S. pohuashanensis in 2008 and 2009, there were 8 species of birds visiting S. pohuashanensis fruits, among which, three pulp-eating species Turdus naumanni, Cyanopica cyana, and Dendrocopos leucotos could disperse S. pohuashanensis seeds. The visiting frequency of the three species to S. pohuashanensis fruits was 54%, 12%, and 7%, respectively, and the first stop spot after predation was mainly within 5-10 m away from the visited trees (with a proportion of 68.2%), secondly within 5 m (27.3%), and only 4.5% was out of 10 m. The retention time of S. pohuashanensis fruits in the digestive tract of the bird dispersers was up to 20 min, implying a long potential dispersal distance. Fruit- and seed placement tests showed that the fruits artificially placed in different habitats were disappeared within 6-7 days, and the fruit predators on the ground were mainly rodents and ground-feeding birds, with the predation rates being 50% -70%, while the seed predators on the ground were rodents, ground-feeding birds, and ants, with the predation rates only 1% -5%. S. pohuashanensis could provide food for a variety of frugivorous animals, and in return, the animals could disperse S. pohuashanensis seeds, which might have profound effects on the natural regeneration of S. pohuashanensis.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Forest Tree Genetic Improvement and Biotechnology, School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China. slpyzxl@126.com
authors.forename: Xiu-liang
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jian-wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Hai-long
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D005638:Fruit / Q000254:growth & development; D060434:Herbivory; D058614:Seed Dispersal; D012639:Seeds / Q000254:growth & development; D031994:Sorbus / Q000254:growth & development*