啮齿类对植物种子的传播作用

种子植物是固着生活的有机体 ,如果能成功地将种子扩散到适宜的生境 ,将会在生存竞争中获得优势。在长期的进化过程中 ,不同的植物依赖不同的媒介传播种子 ,如风传播 ,水传播 ,或自身的力量传播 (重力、弹爆力等 )。在很多情况下也依靠动物完成种子扩散 ,即所谓的动物传播。根据依赖的动物对象不同可以分为蚁传播 ,鸟传播 ,哺乳类传播 ,以及鱼传播 ,爬行类传播等。哺乳类中传播种子的类群主要包括翼手类 ,灵长类和啮齿类。由于能够飞行 ,热带食果实的蝙蝠(属翼手类 )对种子的传播作用最明显 ,研究得也最多 ,源于蝙蝠类的传播特称为ｃｈｉｒ…

Effect of Rodents on Seed Dispersal

Hoarding behavior of rodents includes larder and scatter-hoarding.The latter which caches a lot of seeds under ground in a wide area may has an effect on seed dispersal.Rodents usually cache seeds between the seed resource and home range.Seeds are transported only several tens of meters,with one or several seeds in one cache.Although rodents cache a lot of seeds,the post-dispersal predation rate is high and only a few of them remained.Micro-habitat of caches are often adapted to the germination of seeds.Trees with large seeds such as nuts and pine nuts are mainly dependent on the caching dispersal.Caching dispersal may help the seeds to escape heavy predation under mother tree,to colonize new place,and to arrive the habitat where they can germinate.