Influence of habitat complexity and landscape configuration on pollination and seed-dispersal interactions of wild cherry trees.

Land-use intensification is a major cause for the decline in species diversity in human-modified landscapes. The loss of functionally important species can reduce a variety of ecosystem functions, such as pollination and seed dispersal, but the intricate relationships between land-use intensity, biodiversity and ecosystem functioning are still contentious. Along a gradient from forest to intensively used farmland, we quantified bee species richness, visitation rates of bees and pollination success of wild cherry trees (Prunus avium). We analysed the effects of structural habitat diversity at a local scale and of the proportion of suitable habitat around each tree at a landscape scale. We compared these findings with those from previous studies of seed-dispersing birds and mammals in the same model system and along the same land-use gradient. Bee species richness and visitation rates were found to be highest in structurally simple habitats, whereas bird species richness--but not their visitation rates--were highest in structurally complex habitats. Mammal visitation rates were only influenced at the landscape scale. These results show that different functional groups of animals respond idiosyncratically to gradients in habitat and landscape structure. Despite strong effects on bees and birds, pollination success and bird seed removal did not differ along the land-use gradient at both spatial scales. These results suggest that mobile organisms, such as bees and birds, move over long distances in intensively used landscapes and thereby buffer pollination and seed-dispersal interactions. We conclude that measures of species richness and interaction frequencies are not sufficient on their own to understand the ultimate consequences of land-use intensification on ecosystem functioning.

Sexual size dimorphism predicts rates of sequence evolution of SPerm Adhesion Molecule 1 (SPAM1, also PH-20) in monkeys, but not in hominoids (apes including humans).

Based on a dataset comprising coding DNA sequences of 23 anthropoid primates, we herein investigate if rates of sequence evolution of SPerm Adhesion Molecule1 (SPAM1, also PH-20), which participates in sperm-egg interaction, is lower in more sexually dimorphic species. For comparison, we analyze sequence evolution of apolipoproteinA-IV (APOA4) and apolipoprotein A-V (APOA5), which should evolve under less or even no sexual selection given their expression in blood, digestive tract, liver, and lungs. Regression analyses provides significant support for a negative dependence of SPAM1 derived branch-specific ratios of non-synonymous to synonymous substitution rates (dN/dS) on sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in a subsample comprising New World and Old World monkeys. We moreover observed a tendency for a positive correlation of substitution rates of SPAM1 with relative testes weight (RTW) and significantly lowered dN/dS estimates in uni-male and uni-male/multi-male breeding monkeys. Importantly, the pattern was not reproduced when analyzing partial APOA4 and APOA5 sequences. These findings illustrate that different levels of sperm competition, probably fueled by female cryptic choice, account for species-specific sequence evolution of SPAM1 in monkeys. Remarkably, present data do not support a correlation of species-specific sequence evolution of SPAM1 with sexual selection levels in hominoids (apes including humans). This can partly be ascribed to a relaxation of functional constraint of SPAM1 in some hominoid species. Additional factors confounding regression analyses specifically in hominoids might be higher levels of sperm competition than reflected by SSD and RTW in some species, a rather strong effect of female mate choice on paternity rates in others, and - in particular in humans - socio-cultural factors not measurable by SSD and RTW.

Bird diversity and seed dispersal along a human land-use gradient: high seed removal in structurally simple farmland.

Only few studies have analysed the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function at the landscape scale although relationships and mechanisms known from experimental studies might be different in natural systems. We quantified bird diversity and seed removal from 38 wild cherry trees (Prunus avium) along a human land-use gradient from forest to structurally diverse to simple agricultural systems. High human land-use intensity led to low species richness and total abundance of the local bird community around wild cherry trees, as expected from previous studies. Nevertheless, trees in structurally simple agroecosystems were visited as frequently as trees in structurally complex landscapes and in forests. Furthermore, the number of seeds removed per tree did not decline with increasing human land-use intensity. Thus, ecosystem function was robust in spite of locally reduced bird diversity. The reason might be that movement behaviour and movement distances of birds changed along the human land-use gradient. It appears that birds moved longer distances to forage in fruiting cherry trees in structurally simple agroecosystems. This suggests that for systems where ecosystem function is mediated by highly mobile organisms, movement behaviour and distances are of considerable importance. Increases in movement distances with increasing human land-use intensity might also be common in other systems in which ecosystem function depends on mobile links.

Ecomorphological predictors of natal dispersal distances in birds.

1. Dispersal is one of the key ecological parameters but it is very difficult to quantify directly. As a consequence, empirical studies often ignore dispersal or use indirect measures. 2. Ringing data have previously been used to estimate the natal dispersal distances of 47 British passerine bird species. This provides an excellent opportunity to examine the potential of various indirect measures to predict natal dispersal distances in British birds. 3. We use a phylogenetic comparative framework and single- and multipredictor models including ecomorphological, behavioural or ecological traits to predict natal dispersal distance. 4. A multipredictor model that includes Kipp's distance (a measure of wing tip length), bill depth and tail graduation explains 45% of the interspecific variation in natal dispersal distance. These morphological characters all relate to aerodynamics with stronger flyers dispersing further. 5. However, an index of migration is a strong (but less informative) correlate of dispersal distance and Kipp's distance and bill depth are strong correlates of migration. Thus, we cannot disentangle whether these ecomorphological traits influence dispersal distance directly or whether the relationship between ecomorphology and dispersal is mediated through migratory behaviour. 6. Notwithstanding uncertainties regarding the causal links between dispersal distance and wing morphology, we suggest that two ecomorphological traits, Kipp's distance and bill depth, may provide a useful surrogate.