title: Pre-dispersal strategies by Quercus schottkyana to mitigate the effects of weevil infestation of acorns.
abstract: We investigated how pre-dispersal strategies may mitigate the effects of weevil infestation of acorns in a population of Quercus schottkyana, a dominant oak in Asian evergreen broad-leaved forests, and assess if weevil infestation contributes to low seedling recruitment. We counted the number of acorns produced, daily from the end of August to mid-late November for 9 years from 2006-2014. We also recorded the rate of acorn infestation by weevils and acorn germination rates of weekly collections. Annual acorn production was variable, but particularly low in 2011 and 2013. There was no trade-off between acorn production and acorn dry mass. However, acorns produced later in the season were significantly heavier. For most years: (i) the rate of weevil infestation was negatively density dependent (a greater proportion of acorns died with increased acorn density), (ii) the percentage germination of acorns was positively density dependent (proportionately more acorns germinated with increased density), and (iii) as the season progressed, the percentage of infested acorns declined while germination rates increased. Finally, (iv) maximum acorn production, percentage infestation and percentage germination were asynchronous. Although pre-dispersal mortality is important it is unlikely to be the primary factor leading to low recruitment of oak seedlings.
authors.affiliation: Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650201, China.|Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650201, China.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Botany Department, and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
authors.forename: William L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Harrower
authors.affiliation: Botany Department, and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
authors.forename: Roy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Turkington
authors.affiliation: Quicken Loans Inc., Detroit, Michigan, 48226, USA.
authors.forename: Hong-Yu
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, 650201, China.|Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China.
authors.forename: Zhe-Kun
authors.initials: ZK
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018525:Germination; D029963:Quercus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000469:parasitology*; D036226:Seedlings / Q000254:growth & development / Q000469:parasitology; D012639:Seeds / Q000254:growth & development / Q000469:parasitology*; D048889:Weevils / Q000472:pathogenicity*