| 1. |
- Scofield, Douglas G., et al.
(författare)
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Foraging patterns of acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) on valley oak (Quercus lobata N,e) in two California oak savanna-woodlands
- 2011
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Ingår i: Oecologia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0029-8549 .- 1432-1939. ; 166:1, s. 187-196
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Landscape characteristics and social behavior can affect the foraging patterns of seed-dependent animals. We examine the movement of acorns from valley oak (Quercus lobata) trees to granaries maintained by acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) in two California oak savanna-woodlands differing in the distribution of Q. lobata within each site. In 2004, we sampled Q. lobata acorns from 16 granaries at Sedgwick Reserve in Santa Barbara County and 18 granaries at Hastings Reserve in Monterey County. Sedgwick has lower site-wide density of Q. lobata than Hastings as well as different frequencies of otherQuercus species common to both sites. We found acorn woodpeckers foraged from fewer Q. lobata seed source trees (K g = 4.1 ± 0.5) at Sedgwick than at Hastings (K g = 7.6 ± 0.6) and from fewer effective seed sources (N em* = 2.00 and 5.78, respectively). The differences between sites are due to a greater number of incidental seed sources used per granary at Hastings than at Sedgwick. We also found very low levels of seed source sharing between adjacent granaries, indicating that territoriality is strong at both sites and that each social group forages on its own subset of trees. We discovered an interesting spatial pattern in the location of granaries. At Sedgwick, acorn woodpeckers situated their granaries within areas of higher-than-average tree density, while at Hastings, they placed them within areas of lower-than-average tree density, with the outcome that granaries at the two sites were located in areas of similar valley oak density. Our results illustrate that landscape characteristics might influence the number of trees visited by acorn woodpeckers and the locations of territories, while woodpecker social behavior, such as territoriality, shapes which trees are visited and whether they are shared with other social groups.
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| 2. |
- Scofield, Douglas G., et al.
(författare)
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Influence of acorn woodpecker social behaviour on transport of coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) acorns in a southern California oak savanna
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0022-0477 .- 1365-2745. ; 98:3, s. 561-572
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 1. Many plant species depend upon animals for seed dispersal, yet animals disperse seeds in pursuit of their own social and behavioural agendas. Animal social behaviour affects where and how they forage, so it must also shape patterns of seed dispersal.2. At Sedgwick Reserve, California, USA, we established a study population of Quercus agrifolia to determine patterns of acorn foraging by the acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorous). This cooperative breeder lives in social groups that defend territories surrounding arboreal seed caches (granaries), foraging communally within these territories.3. We genotyped pericarp tissue of 568 acorns, as well as 285 adult Q. agrifolia trees, including all adults within 150 m of 16 focal granaries. After quantifying genotyping error, we identified a genetically reliable subset of 524 acorns. We assigned a source tree to each acorn and estimated the number of seed sources per granary and seed source sharing among granaries.4. We found one to eight distinct seed-source genotypes per granary, and an effective source diversity ranging from 1.0 to 6.6 seed sources. Of all transport events, 96.5% involve source trees within 150 m of the granaries. For one granary, all sampled acorns were transported from five trees located more than 1.3 km away, with all source trees within 90 m of each other. No measure of seed-source diversity was associated with density of potential seed sources, and the pattern of acorn movement fits three traditional dispersal curves poorly.5. Woodpecker groups rarely collected acorns from overlapping sets of maternal sources. Some pairs of neighbouring granaries shared maternal sources, and we identify those that were probably maintained by the same woodpecker group.6.Synthesis. Territoriality of woodpecker groups restricts both the spatial area of foraging and the sharing of seed sources. This foraging behaviour limits distances and directions of acorn transport from oaks located within woodpecker territories. Dispersal agents with this type of social structure will create a high degree of local genetic structure. Extreme behavioural variations may result in anomalous long-distance dispersal events that increase genetic connectivity, but are likely to do so in an episodic and erratic fashion.
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| 3. |
- Scofield, Douglas, et al.
(författare)
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Use of Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Diversity Measures to Characterize Seed Dispersal by Animals
- 2012
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Ingår i: American Naturalist. - Chicago : University of Chicago Press. - 0003-0147 .- 1537-5323. ; 180:6, s. 719-732
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Seed dispersal shapes ecological and evolutionary dynamics of plant populations. Here, we extend classical diversity measures to study the impact of disperser behavior on seed dispersal. We begin by extending our previous diversity structure approach, which partitioned seed source diversity within and among dispersal sites, into the more general framework of traditional diversity measures. This statistical approach allows an assessment of the extent to which foraging behavior shapes α and γ diversity, as well as the divergence in seed sources among dispersal sites, which we call δ. We also introduce tests to facilitate comparisons of diversity among dispersal sites and seed vectors and to compare overall diversity among sampled systems. We then apply these tools to investigate the diversity blend of parentage resulting from seed dispersal by two avian seed vectors with very different social and foraging behaviors: (1) acorn woodpeckers, transportingQuercus agrifolia acorns, and (2) long-wattled umbrellabirds, transporting Oenocarpus bataua palm nuts. Using these diversity and divergence measures, we test the hypothesis that different foraging behaviors generate distinctive diversity partitions for the two focal tree species. This approach provides a new tool for assessment of the impact of dispersal agents on the seed source structure of plant populations, which can be extended to include the impact of virtually any propagule vector for a range of systems.
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| 4. |
- Smouse, Peter E., et al.
(författare)
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Using Seedling and Pericarp Tissues to Determine Maternal Parentage of Dispersed Valley Oak Recruits
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Heredity. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0022-1503 .- 1465-7333. ; 103:2, s. 250-259
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The spatial pattern of established seedlings yields valuable information about variation in fecundity, dispersal, and spatial structure of distributed recruits, but separating maternal and paternal contributions in monoecious species has been hampered by the “2 parent” problem. It is now possible to determine the maternal parentage of established recruits with genetic assay of maternally derived tissues of the seed or fruit, but the DNA of weathered maternal tissues often yields unreliable genotypes, reducing the practical range of such assay. We develop a mixed assay of seedling and seed (pericarp) tissues and illustrate it with distributed recruits of California valley oak (Quercus lobata Née). Detailed analysis indicates correct maternal assignment rates of canopy patch recruits of 56% (seedling assay only) versus 94% (mixed assay). For open patch recruits, maternal assignment rates were less than 50% (seedling assay only) versus 91% (mixed assay). The strategy of choice is to use seedling genotypes to identify a small set of credible parental candidates and then deploy 3–4 well-chosen pericarp/endocarp loci to reduce that list to a single obvious maternal candidate. The increase in the number of recruits available for subsequent analysis is pronounced, increasing precision and statistical power for subsequent inference.
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| 5. |
- Sork, Victoria L., et al.
(författare)
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Impact of asymmetric male and female gamete dispersal on allelic diversity and spatial genetic structure in valley oak (Quercus lobata Nee)
- 2015
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Ingår i: Evolutionary Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0269-7653 .- 1573-8477. ; 29:6, s. 927-945
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The distribution and abundance of genetic diversity in plant populations is initiated by sexually asymmetric propagule dispersal through pollen and seeds. Because these processes occur serially, it is not transparent how each contributes to subsequent patterns of genetic diversity. Using combined seedling/seed coat assay for naturally distributed seedlings of Quercus lobata N,e, we extracted male and female gametic genotypes, and then assessed (wind-vectored) paternal and (gravity- and animal-vectored) maternal contributions to spatially distributed allelic diversity. We evaluated 200 naturally recruited seedlings from 4 open patches away from any adult canopies (denoted 'open'), and 174 seedlings from 14 patches immediately beneath adult canopies (denoted 'canopy'). The open patches included 19 % long distant dispersal events of > 1 km while the canopy patches contained seedlings from one tree overhead. For each patch type, we partitioned average allelic diversity for six microsatellite loci for the whole study site (gamma) into separate within-patch (alpha) and among-patch (beta) components, translated into among-patch divergence (delta). We found that alpha-diversity resulting from seed dispersal was much less than that from pollen dispersal in both patch types, while total gamma-diversity across the site was similar. Divergence (delta) among canopy patches was significantly greater than delta among open patches. We then evaluated spatial genetic autocorrelation (kinship) patterns for both open and canopy strata, separately for male and female gametes. Female gametes showed sharply declining kinship with increasing distance for canopy patches and modestly for open patches. In sharp contrast, male gametes from both patches showed only subtle decline of kinship, but seedlings still showed significant structure across patch types. On balance, sexual asymmetry in propagule dispersal shapes both the abundance and distribution of allelic diversity, with pollen dispersal promoting overall diversity but reducing spatial structure, but seed-dispersal reduces overall diversity and markedly increases spatial genetic structure.
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| 6. |
- Struwe, Lena, et al.
(författare)
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Spatial evolutionary and ecological vicariance analysis (SEEVA), a novel approach to biogeography and speciation research, with an example from Brazilian Gentianaceae
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 1365-2699 .- 0305-0270. ; 38:10, s. 1841-1854
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim Spatial evolutionary and ecological vicariance analysis (SEEVA) is a simple analytical method that evaluates environmental or ecological divergence associated with evolutionary splits. It integrates evolutionary hypotheses, phylogenetic data, and spatial, temporal, environmental and geographical information to elucidate patterns. Using a phylogeny of Prepusa Mart. and Senaea Taub. (Angiospermae: Gentianaceae), SEEVA is used to describe the radiation and ecological patterns of this basal gentian group across south-eastern Brazil. Location Latin America, global. Methods Environmental data for 151 geolocated botanical collections, associated with specimens from seven species, were compiled with ARCGIS, and were matched with geolocated base layers of eight climatological variables, as well as one each of geological, soil type, elevational and vegetation variables. Sister groups were defined on the basis of the six nested nodes that defined the phylogenetic tree of these two genera. A (0, 1)-scaled divergence index (D) was defined and tested for each of 12 environmental and for each of the six phylogenetic nodes, by means of contingency analyses. We contrast divergence indices of nested clades, allopatric and sympatric sister clades. Results The level of ecological divergence between sister clades/species, defined in terms of D measures, was substantial for five of six nodes, with 21 of 72 environmental comparisons having D > 0.75. Soil types and geological age of bedrock were strongly divergent only for basal nodes in the phylogeny, by contrast with temperature and precipitation, which exhibited strong divergence at all nodes. There has been strong divergence and progressive occupation of wetter and colder habitats throughout the history of Prepusa. Nodes separating allopatric sister clades exhibited larger niche divergence than did those separating sympatric sister clades. Main conclusions SEEVA provides a multi-source, direct analysis method for correlating field collections, phylogenetic hypotheses, species distributions and georeferenced environmental data. Using SEEVA, it was possible to quantify and test the divergence between sister lineages, illustrating both niche conservatism and ecological specialization. SEEVA permits elucidation of historical and ecological vicariance for evolutionary lineages, and is amenable to wide application, taxonomically, geographically and ecologically.
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