Endozoochory by mallard in New Zealand: what seeds are dispersed and how far?

PeerJ

Riley D. Bartel¹  Ádám Lovas-Kiss²  Andy J. Green³  Jennifer L. Sheppard⁴ 

[1]Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada

[2]Department of Botany, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary

[3]Department of Wetland Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, EBD-CSIC, Seville, Spain

[4]School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

关键词: Anas platyrhynchos;    New Zealand;    Seed dispersal;    Daily movement;    Mallard;    Solanum nigrum;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.4811

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

In Europe and North America waterfowl are major dispersers of aquatic and terrestrial plants, but in New Zealand their role has yet to be investigated. Mallards were introduced to New Zealand in the late 1800s, and today they are the most abundant and widespread waterfowl in the country. To assess seed dispersal, we radiomarked 284 female mallards from two study sites during the pre-breeding (June–August) and breeding (August–December) periods in 2014–2015, and examined movements that occurred within 24, 48 or 72 h when seed dispersal by endozoochory is considered likely. During June and July 2015, we collected 29 faecal samples from individual female mallards during radiomarking and 24 samples from mallard flocks. We recovered 69 intact seeds from the faecal samples and identified 12 plant taxa. Of the plant seeds identified and dispersed by mallards in this study, 40% were members of the Asteraceae family, nine plant species were alien to New Zealand, and the indigenous-status of three unidentified taxa could not be determined. Two taxa (and 9% of seeds) were germinated following gut passage: an unidentified Asteraceae and Solanum nigrum. During the pre-breeding and breeding periods, movement of females within 24 h averaged 394 m (SD = 706 m) and 222 m (SD = 605 m) respectively, with maximum distances of 3,970 m and 8,028 m. Maxima extended to 19,230 m within 48 h. Most plant species recorded are generally assumed to be self-dispersed or dispersed by water; mechanisms that provide a much lower maximum dispersal distance than mallards. The ability of mallards to disperse viable seeds up to 19 km within 48 h suggests they have an important and previously overlooked role as vectors for a variety of wetland or grassland plant species in New Zealand.

【 授权许可】

Unknown