FSD 2010 - Chen

5th International Symposium-Workshop on Frugivores and Seed Dispersal (1985-2010)

Jin Chen

Ph D, Professor
Key lab of tropical forest ecolgy
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden
Chinese Academy of Sciences

cj(a)xtbg.org.cn

Activities

I am a team leader of a lab termed as “Ecology and Evolution of Plant-Animal Interaction(EEPAI)” in Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Rather than focus on a group of animal and plant, we tried a quite range of plant-animal pairs, including rodents-pine, ants-passiflora, birds-fig trees, belowground soil fauna- aboveground plants, etc., to explore the following questions: 1) How do plant-animal interaction complexes contribute to the creation and maintenance of biodiversity? 2) To what extent are interacting plants and animals co-evolutionary adapted to and shaped by each other? 3) How do plant-animal interactions respond to changing environments? To examine ecological relationships and evolutionary implications, we try to integrate evidence based on multiple disciplines, including experimental field ecology, molecular work and phytochemistry.

Abstract

Geographic mosaic of selection on cone and seed traits of Pinus armandii by nutcrackers and scatter-hoarding rodents

by Jin Chen, Fan Chen, and Fangfang Xu

The strength and outcome of interspecific interactions often vary across the landscape because of differences in community context. Geographic variations in the composition of the seed disperser and seed predator assemblages may result in variations in selective pressures on the fruit and seed traits of plants. Pinus armandii is a species of pine with large (about 300 mg) and wingless seeds that native to western China. Nutcrackers (Nucifraga　caryocatactes) are the primary seed dispersers and scatter-hoarding rodents are the secondary seed dispersers. To determine whether and how the pine has evolved in response to selection by nutcrackers and scatter-hoarding rodents, we conducted studies in five sites located in Diqing prefecture, northwest Yunnan province where the mountains and rivers divided the pine forest into isolated or partly-isolated populations. The study demonstrated that cone and seed traits evolution were divergent among the five study sites with different seed disperser community compositions, consistent with variation in selection by nutcrackers and scatter-hoarding rodents. In order to examine the gene flow among the five sites, we use SSR technology to present the scale of gene flow among the sites, which will be presented in the talk. As a whole, the study help us to understand how geographic mosaic of selection facilitating the formation of biodiversity in this worldwide well-known biodiversity hotspot.

Related publications

Xu F, Chen J (2010) Competition hierarchy and plant defense in a guild of ants on tropical Passiflora. Insectes Sociaux, In press.

Zhou H, Chen J (2010) Spatial genetic structure in an undercanopy dioecious fig species: the roles of seed rain, seed and pollen mediated gene flow, and local selection. Journal of Ecology, Minor revise.

Wang B and Chen J (2009) Seed size, more than nutrient or tannin content, affects seed caching behavior of a common genus of old world rodents. Ecology, 90: 3023-3032.

Yang XD and Chen J (2009) Plant litter quality influences the contribution of soil fauna to litter decomposition in humid tropical forests, southwestern China. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 41: 910-918.

Sawat S and Chen J (2009) Habit and fig characteristics influence the bird assemblage and network properties of fig trees from Xishuangbanna, South-West China. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 25:161-170.

Wang B and Chen J (2008) Tannin concentration enhances seed caching by scatter-hoarding rodents: An experiment using artificial ‘seeds’. Acta Oecologica, 34: 379-385.

Zhou YB, Zhang JS, Slade E, Zhang LB, Palomares F, Chen J, Wang XM, Zhang SY (2008) Dietary shifts in relation to fruit availability among masked palm civets (Paguma larvata) in central China. Journal of Mammalogy, 89: 435-477.

Zhou H, Chen J, Chen F (2007) Ant-mediated seed dispersal contributes to the local spatial pattern and genetic structure of Globba lancangensis (Zingiberaceae). Journal of Heredity, 98: 317-324.

Aeshita M, Wilske B, Tan ZH, Chen J (2006) Occurrence and morphometric variability in the frugivorous bat species, Cynopterus sphinx and Rousettus leschenaulti, from a tropical rainforest, Xishuangbanna, SW-China. Acta Chiropterologica, 8: 417-427.

Xiang H and Chen J (2004) Interspecific variation of plant traits and the relationship of traits with resistance to herbivory among four species of Ficus (Moraceae). Annals of Botany, 94: 377-384.

Chen J, Fleming TH, Zhang L, Wang H, Liu Y (2004) Patterns of Fruit Traits in a Tropical Rainforest in Xishuangbanna, SW China. Acta Oecologia, 26:157-164.