Dataset Information

The effect of gut passage by waterbirds on the seed coat and pericarp of diaspores lacking "external flesh": Evidence for widespread adaptation to endozoochory in angiosperms.

ABSTRACT: The widely accepted "endozoochory syndrome" is assigned to angiosperm diaspores with a fleshy, attractive tissue and implies the existence of adaptations for protection against digestion during gut passage. This syndrome has led diaspore fleshiness to be emphasized as the exclusive indicator of endozoochory in much of the ecology and biogeography research. Crucially, however, endozoochory in nature is not limited to frugivory, and diaspores without "external flesh" are commonly dispersed, often over long distances, via birds and mammals by granivory. A key question is: are such diaspores somehow less prepared from an architectural point of view to survive gut passage than fleshy diaspores? To answer this question, we selected 11 European angiosperm taxa that fall outside the classical endozoochory syndrome yet are known to be dispersed via endozoochory. We studied their seed coat/pericarp morphology and anatomy both before and after gut passage through granivorous waterfowl, and determined their seed survival and germinability. We found no fundamental differences in the mechanical architecture of the seed coat and pericarp between these plants dispersed by granivory and others dispersed by frugivory. Neither diaspore traits per se, nor dormancy type, were strong predictors of diaspore survival or degree of damage during gut passage through granivores, or of the influence of gut passage on germinability. Among our 11 taxa, survival of gut passage is enabled by the thick cuticle of the exotesta or epicarp; one or several lignified cell layers; and diverse combinations of other architectural elements. These protection structures are ubiquitous in angiosperms, and likely to have evolved in gymnosperms. Hence, many angiosperm diaspores, dry or fleshy, may be pre-adapted to endozoochory, but with differing degrees of specialization and adaptation to dispersal mechanisms such as frugivory and granivory. Our findings underline the broad ecological importance of "non-classical endozoochory" of diaspores that lack "external flesh".

SUBMITTER: Costea M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6922415 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The effect of gut passage by waterbirds on the seed coat and pericarp of diaspores lacking "external flesh": Evidence for widespread adaptation to endozoochory in angiosperms.

Costea Mihai M El Miari Hiba H Laczkó Levente L Fekete Réka R Molnár Attila V AV Lovas-Kiss Ádám Á Green Andy J AJ

PloS one 20191219 12

The widely accepted "endozoochory syndrome" is assigned to angiosperm diaspores with a fleshy, attractive tissue and implies the existence of adaptations for protection against digestion during gut passage. This syndrome has led diaspore fleshiness to be emphasized as the exclusive indicator of endozoochory in much of the ecology and biogeography research. Crucially, however, endozoochory in nature is not limited to frugivory, and diaspores without "external flesh" are commonly dispersed, often ...[more]

PMID: 31856213

Similar Datasets

Project description:Field studies have shown that waterbirds, especially members of the Anatidae family, are major vectors of dispersal by endozoochory for a broad range of plants lacking a fleshy fruit, yet whose propagules can survive gut passage. Widely adopted dispersal syndromes ignore this dispersal mechanism, and we currently have little understanding of what traits determine the potential of angiosperms for endozoochory by waterbirds. Results from previous experimental studies have been inconsistent as to how seed traits affect seed survival and retention time in the gut and have failed to control for the influence of plant phylogeny. Using 13 angiosperm species from aquatic and terrestrial habitats representing nine families, we examined the effects of seed size, shape, and hardness on the proportion of seeds surviving gut passage through mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and their retention time within the gut. We compiled a molecular phylogeny for these species and controlled for the nonindependence of taxa due to common descent in our analyses. Intact seeds from all 13 species were egested, but seed survival was strongly determined by phylogeny and by partial effects of seed mass and hardness (wet load): species with seeds harder than expected from their size, and smaller than expected from their loading, had greater survival. Once phylogeny was controlled for, a positive partial effect of seed roundness on seed survival was also revealed. Species with seeds harder than expected from their size had a longer mean retention time, a result retained after controlling for phylogeny. Our study is the first to demonstrate that seed shape and phylogeny are important predictors of seed survival in the avian gut. Our results demonstrate that the importance of controlling simultaneously for multiple traits and relating single traits (e.g., seed size) alone to seed survival or retention time is not a reliable way to detect important patterns, especially when phylogenetic effects are ignored.

Project description:BackgroundStyrax tonkinensis is a great potential biofuel as the species contains seeds with a particularly high oil content. Understanding the nutrient distribution in different parts of the fruit is imperative for the development and enhancement of S. tonkinensis as a biodiesel feedstock.MethodsFrom 30 to 140 days after flowering (DAF), the development of S. tonkinensis fruit was tracked. The morphology change, nutrient content, and activity of associated enzymes in the continuum of the pericarp, seed coat, and kernel were analyzed.ResultsBetween 30 and 70 DAF, the main locus of dry matter deposition shifted from the seed coat to the kernel. The water content within the pericarp remained high throughout development, but at the end (130 DAF later) decreased rapidly. The water content within both the seed coat and the kernel consistently declined over the course of the fruit development (30-110 DAF). Between 70 and 80 DAF, the deposition centers for sugar, starch, protein, potassium, and magnesium was transferred to the kernel from either the pericarp or the seed coat. The calcium deposition center was transferred first from pericarp to the seed coat and then to the kernel before it was returned to the pericarp. The sucrose to hexose ratio in the seed coat increased between 30 and 80 DAF, correlating with the accumulation of total soluble sugar, starch, and protein. In the pericarp, the sucrose to hexose ratio peaked at 40 and 100 DAF, correlating with the reserve deposition in the following 20-30 days. After 30 DAF, the chlorophyll concentration of both the pericarp and the seed coat dropped. The maternal unit (the pericarp and the seed coat) in fruit showed a significant positive linear relationship between chlorophyll b/a and the concentration of total soluble sugar. The potassium content had significant positive correlation with starch (? = 0.673, p = 0.0164), oil (? = 0.915, p = 0.000203), and protein content (? = 0.814, p = 0.00128), respectively. The concentration of magnesium had significant positive correlation with starch (? = 0.705, p = 0.0104), oil (? = 0.913, p = 0.000228), and protein content (? = 0.896, p = 0.0000786), respectively. Calcium content had a significant correlation with soluble sugar content (? = 0.585, p = 0.0457).ConclusionsDuring the fruit development of S. tonkinensis, the maternal unit, that is, the pericarp and seed coat, may act a nutrient buffer storage area between the mother tree and the kernel. The stage of 70-80 DAF is an important time in the nutrient distribution in the continuum of the pericarp, seed coat, and kernel. Our results described the metabolic dynamics of the continuum of the pericarp, seed coat, and kernel and the contribution that a seed with high oil content offers to biofuel.

Project description:"Watervogels - Wintering waterbirds in Flanders, Belgium" is a sampling event dataset published by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). It contains more than 94,000 sampling events (site counts), covering over 710,000 species observations (and zero counts when there is no associated occurrence) and 36 million individual birds for the period 1991-2016. The dataset includes information on 167 different species in nearly 1,100 wetland sites. The aim of these bird counts is to gather information on the size, distribution, and long-term trends of wintering waterbird populations in Flanders. These data are also used to assess the importance of individual sites for waterbirds, using quantitative criteria. Furthermore, the waterbird counts contribute to international monitoring programs, such as the International Waterbird Census (coordinated by Wetlands International) and fulfil some of the objectives of the European Bird Directive, the Ramsar Convention, and the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA). Here the dataset is published as a standardized Darwin Core Archive and includes for each event: a stable event ID, date and location of observation and a short description of the sampling protocol, effort and conditions (in the event core), supplemented with specific information for each occurrence: a stable occurrence ID, the scientific name and higher classification of the observed species, the number of recorded individuals, and a reference to the observer of the record (in the occurrence extension). Issues with the dataset can be reported at https://github.com/inbo/data-publication/issues. The following information is not included in this dataset and available upon request: roost site counts, counts from historical (inactive) locations and counts from before 1991. We have released this dataset to the public domain under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). We would appreciate it if you follow the INBO norms for data use (https://www.inbo.be/en/norms-data-use) when using the data. If you have any questions regarding this dataset, do not hesitate to contact us via the contact information provided in the metadata or via opendata@inbo.be.

Dataset Information

The effect of gut passage by waterbirds on the seed coat and pericarp of diaspores lacking "external flesh": Evidence for widespread adaptation to endozoochory in angiosperms.

Publications

The effect of gut passage by waterbirds on the seed coat and pericarp of diaspores lacking "external flesh": Evidence for widespread adaptation to endozoochory in angiosperms.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets