Welcome to Chinese Journal of Ecology! Today is Share:

cje ›› 1997, Vol. ›› Issue (5): 43-46,66.

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effect of Dry_fruit Eating Birds to Seed Dispersal

Lu changhu, Yuan Li   

  1. Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040
  • Received:1995-11-13 Revised:1996-03-04 Online:1997-10-10

Abstract: Frugivorous birds can be divided into two groups:fleshy_fruit eating birds and dry_fruit eating birds (including pine_nut eating birds). Many dry_fruit birds store a lot of seeds for future use and scatter hoarders have an effect to seed dispersal. This is coadaption between hoarding birds and plants. Corvidae are the most important dispersers. Seed dispersal contain three steps:seed selection, transportation and caching. Caching behavior affects the dispersal efficiency greatly. Death ratio of seeds is very high during seed dispersal period. Owing to hoarders' recovery and reforaging and only a few seeds can survive. However regeneration of many species of plants with big and edible seeds depend on birds and other animals' caching. These plants include conifers with big and wingless seeds and broadleaved trees with nuts.

Key words: drought stress, endogenous hormone, stomatal conductance, cotton, drip irrigation with mulch.