Proximity to roads disrupts rodents’ contributions to seed dispersal services and subsequent recruitment dynamics

作者：Wenwen Chen, Jie Zhong, Walter P. Carson, Zhanhui Tang, Zongqiang Xie, Shucun Sun, Youbing Zhou · 发表于：Journal of Ecology · 年份：2019 · DOI：10.1111/1365-2745.13221 · 被引用次数：34 · 研究领域：Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation、Wildlife Ecology and Conservation、Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies

Abstract Seed dispersal and subsequent recruitment dynamics play a crucially important role in regulating species coexistence and structuring tree diversity in diverse forests. Wildlife, which can dually shape the tree recruitment process by simultaneously functioning as natural enemies and seed dispersers, are undergoing widespread changes in population and behaviour due to the detrimental effects of expanding global road networks. However, the impact of these changes on recruitment dynamics through the alteration of seed dispersal processes remains understudied. Here, we assessed how roads affect animal‐mediated recruitment dynamics from the seed to adult stages of trees using a ubiquitous vertebrate‐seed model: rodents and acorns. To quantify the degree to which proximity to a road alters seed dispersal and regulates subsequent recruitment dynamics, we conducted seed dispersal and predation experiments, and investigated the natural recruitment of a dominant tree species ( Quercus aliena ) from September 2009 to July 2012 in a subtropical forest of central China. Roads caused a decreased seed dispersal distance and increasing larder hoarding, demonstrating a weakened contribution of rodents to seed dispersal services. These patterns were stronger in the masting year than in the non‐masting year. Correspondingly, seedlings, saplings and adult trees had higher densities near roads than far from roads. Near roads, recruit transition rates (i.e. seedling‐to‐sapling and sapling‐...