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Dispersal of Camellia japonica seeds by Apodemus speciosus revealed by maternity analysis of plants and behavioral observation of animal vectors

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Seed dispersal determines a plant’s reproductive success, range expansion, and population genetic structures. Camellia japonica, a common evergreen tree in Japan, has been the subject of recent genetic studies of population structure, but its mode of seed dispersal has been assumed, without detailed study, to be barochory. The morphological and physiological features of C. japonica seeds, which are large and nutritious, suggest zoochorous dispersal, however. We compared actual distances between mother trees and seedlings with distances attributable to gravity dispersion only, to test the zoochory hypothesis of C. japonica. The animals that transport the seeds for caching were identified experimentally. We also examined the extent to which seed dispersal is affected by the behavior of animal vectors. Seed dispersal by Apodemus speciosus was confirmed by taking photographs of animals that were consuming seeds experimentally deposited on the ground. Camellia seeds hoarded by the rodents under the litter or soil were protected from drying. On the basis of microsatellite analysis of maternal tissue from the seed coat, the mother trees of 28 seedlings were identified. Maternity analysis revealed the average seed-dispersal distance from mother trees was 5.8 m±6.0 SD, a distance greater than initial dispersal by gravity alone. These results indicate that C. japonica is a zoochorous species dispersed by A. speciosus. Fifty percent of the seed dispersal occurred from mature evergreen forests to dwarf bamboo thickets. This directional seed dispersal would contribute to range expansion of C. japonica. Home range sizes of A. speciosus were 0.85 ha at most and covered with different types of vegetation, from evergreen forests to grassland. This low specificity of their microhabitat use might enhance seed dispersal to different types of vegetation.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Tomokazu Isaka, Aya Ishida, Shinsuke Sakamoto, Mitsuko Hirose, Miki Fukuda, and Reiko Mizusawa for their help with fieldwork. Seiya Abe, Pedro Jordano, Youko Kunitake, Kemurio Ozaki, Toru Takeuchi, Suyama Yoshihisa, and Masatoshi Yasuda provided some helpful comments on our study. We also thank the staff at the Niijima-mura museum for valuable information in the field. This research was supported financially by a Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from The Japan Science Society (no. 15–232).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Geographical Ecology, Toho University, 2-2-1 Miyama, Funabashi, Chiba, 274-8510, Japan

    Harue Abe & Masami Hasegawa

  2. Environmental Science Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, Chiba, 270-1194, Japan

    Rikyu Matsuki & Makoto Nashimoto

  3. Tree Genetics Laboratory, Department of Forest Genetics, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Ibaraki, 305-8687, Japan

    Saneyoshi Ueno

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  1. Harue Abe
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  2. Rikyu Matsuki
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  3. Saneyoshi Ueno
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  4. Makoto Nashimoto
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  5. Masami Hasegawa
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Correspondence to Harue Abe.

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All animal experiments complied with Japanese laws.

Appendix

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Table 1

Table 1 DNA analysis of mature trees (N=73) for six microsatellite loci
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Abe, H., Matsuki, R., Ueno, S. et al. Dispersal of Camellia japonica seeds by Apodemus speciosus revealed by maternity analysis of plants and behavioral observation of animal vectors. Ecol Res 21, 732–740 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-006-0179-5

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