Plant-defense mimicry facilitates rapid dispersal of short-lived seeds by hornets.

Autor:	Qin RM; CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China; Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650204, China., Wen P; CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China., Corlett RT; Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China., Zhang Y; Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China., Wang G; CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China; Center for Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China. Electronic address: wanggang@xtbg.org.cn., Chen J; CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China; Center for Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China. Electronic address: cj@xtbg.org.cn.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Current biology : CB [Curr Biol] 2022 Aug 08; Vol. 32 (15), pp. 3429-3435.e5. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Jun 30.
DOI:	10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.034
Abstrakt:	Rates of seed dispersal have rarely been considered important. Here, we demonstrate through field observations and experiments that rapid dispersal is essential for the unusually short-lived seeds of Aquilaria sinensis (agarwood; Thymelaeaceae), which desiccate and die within hours of exposure by fruit dehiscence in the hot, dry forest canopy in tropical southwest China. We show that three species of Vespa hornets remove most seeds within minutes of exposure. The hornets consume only the fleshy elaiosomes and deposit most seeds in damp shade, where they can germinate, a mean of 166 m from the parent tree. Electrophysiological assays and field experiments demonstrate that the hornets are attracted by highly volatile short-carbon-chain (C5-C9) compounds, including aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, and acids, emitted from the dehiscent fruit capsule. These attractive fruit volatiles share 14 of 17 major electrophysiologically active compounds with those emitted from herbivore-damaged leaves, which attract predators, including hornets. Rapid seed dispersal thus appears to have been achieved in this species by the re-purposing of a rapid indirect defense mechanism. We predict that rapid seed dispersal by various mechanisms will be more widespread than currently documented and suggest that volatile attractants are more effective in facilitating this than visual signals, which are blocked by vegetation. Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests. (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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