Seed dispersal by the Rook (Corvus frugilegus L.) in agricultural landscape - mechanisms and ecological importance

• Autorzy: Czarnecka J. , Kitowski I.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

The study aimed to evaluate the role of the Rook Corvus frugilegus in the long-distance seed dispersal in agricultural landscape. According to the literature, Rooks feed in the distance 0.3-1 km from the breeding colonies and 10-40 km from winter communal roosts, and these can be also the potential seed dispersal distances. We concentrated on the dispersal of diaspores of ornitochorous species and weeds (called non-ornitochorous) taken probably incidentally during foraging for other edible plant material. The contents of 528 pellets was analysed, 304 were collected at six sites of breeding colonies located in five rural parks and in one park on the city outskirts, and 224 under three winter roosts in the cities. Seeds representing 45 taxa were found, the most important groups among them are: ornitochorous species (10 taxa), non-ornitochorous (27 taxa, mainly weeds and ruderal species) and cereals (4 species). The mean number of seeds varied between 221 and 442 seeds per 100 pellets in the case of breeding colonies, and between 102 and 347 for wintering roosts. Fruits of ornitochorous species are an important element of the diet of the Rook: Cerasus avium and Fragaria sp. during breeding season and Vitis sp., Sorbus aucuparia and Sambucus nigra during winter. Nonornitochorous species are present in pellets in lower numbers and frequencies than ornitochorous ones and they can be divided into two groups: those transported during breeding season (mainly Stellaria media) and those during winter (Setaria sp. and Echinochloa crus-galli). We estimated that the number of non-ornitochorous seeds transported by birds from the biggest observed winter roosts can exceed 400 thousands seeds per month. The value is much lower in the case of the biggest breeding colony: approximately 16 thousands of propagules. We also checked if species found in pellets can germinate in natural conditions under the studied colonies. Viable individuals of 15 nonornitochorous and of one ornitochorous species were found there, and it was observed that disturbances of soil surface promote germination of some analysed species. @eng

Słowa kluczowe

EN

agricultural landscape; Corvus frugilegus; longdistance dispersal; pellets; Rook; seed dispersal; weeds

PL

gawron; granulki; krajobraz rolniczy; rozproszenie; rozprzestrzenianie nasion; zioło

• Wydawca: Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Czasopismo: Polish Journal of Ecology
• Rocznik: 2010
• Tom: Vol. 58, nr 3
• Strony: 511--523
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 54 poz.,Rys., tab., wz.,

Twórcy

autor

Czarnecka J.

autor

Kitowski I.

• Ecology Department, Institute of Biology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland,

Bibliografia

• 1. Biaduń W. 1998 – The rook, Corvus frugilegus L., in Lublin – breeding population and wintering (In: Fauna miast [Urban Fauna], Eds: Barczak, P. Indykiewicz) – Wyd. ATR, Bydgoszcz, pp. 173–178.
• 2. Biaduń W. 2004 – Breeding population of the Rook Corvus frugilegus L. in Lublin over fifty years (In: Fauna miast Europy Środkowej 21. wieku [Urban Fauna of Central Europe in the 21st Century], Eds: P. Indykiewicz, T. Barczak) – Wyd. LOGO, Bydgoszcz, pp. 399–409.
• 3. Bohrer G., Nathan R., Volis S. 2005 – Effects of long-distance dispersal for metapopulation survival and genetic structure at ecological time and spatial scale – J. Ecol. 93: 1029–1040.
• 4. Busse P. 1963 – Wyniki obrączkowania ptaków w Polsce. Rodzina Corvidae – Acta Ornithol. 7: 189–220.
• 5. Busse P. 1965 – Nest building dynamics of breeding colony of rook – Ekol. Pol. Ser. A. 25: 491–514.
• 6. Cain M.L., Damman H., Muir A. 1998 – Seed dispersal at the Holocene migration of woodland herbs – Ecol. Monogr. 68: 325–347.
• 7. Cain M.L., Milligan B.G., Strand A.E. 2000 – Long-distance seed dispersal in plant populations – Am. J. Bot. 87: 1217–1227.
• 8. Chambers F.M. 1999 – Comment on D. M. Wilkinson (1997).’Plant colonization are wind dispersed seeds really dispersed by birds at larger spatial and temporal scales?’ – J. Biogeogr. 26: 425–427.
• 9. Clark J.S., Fastie C., Hurtt G., Jackson S.T., Johnson C., King G.A., Lewis M., Lynch J., Pacala S., Prentice C., Schupp E.W., Webb III T., Wyckoff P. 1998 – Reid’s paradox of rapid plant migration. Dispersal theory and interpretation of paleoecological records – BioScience, 48: 13–24.
• 10. Corbit M., Marks P.L., Gardescu S. 1999 – Hedgerows as habitat corridors for forest herbs in central New York, USA – J. Ecol. 87: 220–232.
• 11. Couvreur M., Verheyen K., Vellend M., Lamoot I., Cosyns E., Hoffmann M., Hermy M. 2008 – Epizoochory by large herbivores: merging data with models – Basics and Applied Ecology, 9: 204–212.
• 12. Czarnecka J., Kitowski I. 2007 – Nests of White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) and Black-billed Magpie (Pica pica) as places of accumulation of plant diaspores (In: Botanika w Polsce – sukcesy, problemy, perspektywy. Streszczenia referatów i plakatów [Botany in Poland – successes, problems and perspectives] Abstracts. Eds: E. Kępczyńska, J. Kępczyński) – Wyd. Oficyna IN PLUS, p. 61.
• 13. Czarnecka J., Kitowski I. 2008 – The potential role of nests of Black-billed Magpie Pica pica in accumulation and dispersal of seeds in agricultural landscape – Pol. J. Ecol. 56: 673–682.
• 14. Dean W.R., Milton S.J., Siegfried W.R. 1990 – Dispersal of seeds as nest material by birds in semiarid karoo shrubland – Ecology, 7: 1299–1306.
• 15. Eriksson O. 1996 – Regional dynamics of plants: a review of evidence for remnant, source-sink and metapopulations – Oikos, 77: 248–258.
• 16. Gouyon P.H., King E.B., Bonnet J.M., Valdeyron G., Vernet Ph. 1987 – Seed migration and structure of plant population. An experimental study on Thymus vulgaris L. – Oecologia, 72: 92–94.
• 17. Gromadzka J. 1980 – Food consumption and food consumption of the Rook Corvus frugilegus in agrocoenoses in Poland – Acta Ornith. 17: 227–255.
• 18. Higgins S.I., Nathan R., Cain M.L. 2003 – Are long distance dispersal events in plants usually caused by nonstandard means of dispersal? – Ecology, 84: 1945–1956.
• 19. Higgins S.I., Richardson D.M. 1999 – Predicting plant migration rates in changing world: the role of long-distance dispersal – Am. Nat. 153: 464–475.
• 20. Howe H.F., Miriti M.N. 2000 – No question: seed dispersal matters – Trends Ecol. Evol. (TREE), 15: 434–436.
• 21. Howe H.F., Smallwood J. 1982 – Ecology of seed dispersal – Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 13: 201–228.
• 22. Jabłoński B. 1979 – Food of the rook, Corvus frugilegus L. in different parts of its territory – Prz. Zool. 23: 67–80.
• 23. Jadczyk P., Jakubiec Z. 2005 – Wintering of rooks Corvus frugilegus in Poland (In: Ptaki krukowate Polski [Corvids of Poland]. Eds: L. Jerzak, B.P. Kavanagh, P. Tryjanowski) – Bogucki Wyd. Nauk., Poznań, pp. 541–556.
• 24. Jakubiec Z. 2005a – Rook Corvus frugilegus in Poland – current knowledge and research prespectives (In: Ptaki krukowate Polski [Corvids of Poland]. Eds: L. Jerzak, B.P. Kavanagh, P. Tryjanowski) – Bogucki Wyd. Nauk., Poznań, pp. 89–111.
• 25. Jakubiec Z. 2005b – Habitat use and daily activity of foraging Rooks Corvus frugilegus in the agricultural landscape in Wielkopolska (W Poland) (In: Ptaki krukowate Polski [Corvids of Poland], Eds: L. Jerzak, B.P. Kavanagh, P. Tryjanowski) – Bogucki Wyd. Nauk., Poznań, pp. 333–354.
• 26. Jordano P., Garcia C., Godoy J.A., Garcia-Castaño J.L. 2007 – Differential contribution of frugivores to complex seed dispersal patterns – PNAS USA 104: 3278–3282.
• 27. Kasprzykowski Z. 2003 – Habitat preferences of foraging Rooks Corvus frugilegus during the breeding period in agricultural landscape of eastern Poland – Acta Ornithol. 38: 27–31.
• 28. Kucharczyk M., Kucharczyk H. 2009 – Effectiveness of seed dispersal by the Rook Corvus frugilegus (In: Ptaki – Środowisko – Zagrożenia – Ochrona. Wybrane aspekty ekologii ptaków [Birds – Environment – Threats – Conservation. Selected issues in avian ecology], Eds: J. Wiącek, M. Polak, M. Kucharczyk, G. Grzywaczewski, L. Jerzak) – LTO, Lublin, pp. 371-379 (in Polish).
• 29. Le Coeur D., Baundry J., Burel F., Thenail C. 2002 – Why and how we should study field boundary biodiversity in an agrarian landscape context – Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 89: 23–40.
• 30. Lenda M., Skórka P. 2009 – Orzech włoski Juglans regia – nowy, potencjalnie inwazyjny gatunek w rodzimej florze [Walnut Juglans regia – a new, potentially invasive species in native flora] – Chrońmy Przyr. Ojcz. 65: 261–270.
• 31. Luniak M. 1977 – Consumption and digestion of food by the Rook, Corvus frugilegus L. in the condition of an aviary – Acta Ornithol. 16: 213–240 (in Polish).
• 32. Marshall E.J.P. 2002 – Introducing field margin ecology in Europe – Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 89: 1–4.
• 33. Merriam G. 1988 – Landscape dynamics in farmland – Trends Ecol. Evol. (TREE), 3: 16–20.
• 34. Mirek Z., Piękoś-Mirkowa H., Zając A., Zając M. 2002 – Flowering plants and pteridophytes of Poland. A checklist – W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków.
• 35. Nathan R.N., Muller-Landau H.C. 2000 – Spatial aptterns of seed dispersal, their determinants and consequences for recruitment – Trends Ecol. Evol. (TREE), 15: 278–285.
• 36. Nogales M., Hernandez E.C., Valdes F. 1999 – Seed dispersal by common ravens Corvus corax among island habitats (Canarian Archipelago) – Ecoscience, 6: 56–61.
• 37. Nogales M., Delgado J.D., Medina F.M. 1998 – Shrikes, lizards and Lycium intricatum (Solanaceae) fruits: a case of indirect seed dispersal on an oceanic island (Alegranza, Canary Islands) – J. Ecol. 86: 866–871.
• 38. Nogales M., Padilla D.P., Nieves C., Illera J.C., Traveset A. 2007 – Secondary seed dispersal system, frugivorous lizards and predatory birds in insular volcanic badlands – J. Ecol. 95: 1394–1403.
• 39. Orłowski G., Czarnecka J. 2009 – Granivory of birds and seed dispersal: viable seeds of Amaranthus retroflexus L. recovered from the droppings of the Grey Patridge Perdix perdix L. – Pol. J. Ecol. 57: 191–196.
• 40. Orłowski G., Kasprzykowski Z., Zawada Z., Kopij G. 2009 – Stomach content and grit ingestion by Rook Corvus frugilegus nestlings – Ornis Fennica, 86: 117-122.
• 41. Ouborg N.J., Piquot Y., van Groenendael J.M. 1999 – Population genetics, molecular markers and the study of dispersal in plants – J. Ecol. 87: 551–568.
• 42. Pakeman R. J. 2001 – Plant migration rates and seed dispersal mechanisms – J. Biogeogr. 28: 795–800.
• 43. Ptaszyk J., Winiecki A. 2005 – Rooks Corvus frugilegus in the Wielkopolska region: breeding population size, its changes and some elements of breeding biology (In: Ptaki krukowate Polski [Corvids of Poland], Eds. L. Jerzak, B.P. Kavanagh, P. Tryjanowski) – Bogucki Wyd. Nauk., Poznań, pp. 557–576.
• 44. Pulliam H.R. 1988 – Sources, sinks and population regulations – Am. Nat. 132: 652–661.
• 45. Rogalińska D., Hodzyńska H. (eds.) 2007 – Powiaty w Polsce – CSO, Regional and Environmental Surveys Division, Warszawa (www.stat.gov.pl).
• 46. Richling A., Solon J. 1996 – Ekologia krajobrazu [Landscape Ecology] – Wyd. Nauk. PWN, Warszawa (in Polish).
• 47. Rodriguez A., Rodriguez B., Rumeu B., Nogales M. 2007 – Seasonal diet of the Grey Heron Ardea cinerea on oceanic island (Tenerife, Canary island): indirect interaction with wild seed plants – Acta Ornithol. 42: 77–87.
• 48. Thompson K., Bakker J.P., Bekker R.M. 1997 – The Soil Seed Banks of North West Europe: Methodology, Density and Longevity – University Press, Cambridge.
• 49. Thompson K., Bakker J.P., Bekker R.M., Hodgson J.G. 1998 – Ecological correlates of seed persistence in soil in the NW European flora – J. Ecol. 86: 163–169.
• 50. Ter Braak C.J.F., Šmilauer P. 2002 – CANOCO Reference manual and CanoDraw for Windows User’s guide: Software for Canonical Community Ordination (version 4.5) – Microcomputer Power, Ithaca, NY, USA.
• 51. Tryjanowski P., Kuźniak S., Kujawa K., Jerzak L. 2009 – Ekologia ptaków krajobrazu rolniczego [Ecology of Birds of Agriculture Landscape] – Bogucki Wyd. Nauk. Poznań.
• 52. Wang B.C., Smith T.B. 2002 – Closing the seed dispersal loop – Trends Ecol. Evol. (TREE), 17: 379–385.
• 53. Wilkinson D. M. 1997 – Plant colonization: are wind dispersed seeds really dispersed by birds at larger spatial and temporal scales? – J. Biogeogr. 24: 61–65.
• 54. Wilkinson D. M. 1999 – Birds and seed dispersal; a response to comments by F. M. Chambers – J. Biogeogr. 26: 429–430.