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The Bias towards Updrafts for Seed Abscission of Wind Dispersing Plants and its Effects on Dispersal Kernels

Maurer, Kyle D.

Abstract Details

2011, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Civil Engineering.
Seed dispersal of plants is short-term phenomenon with long-term implications to population survival and spread. Determining spread rates of plant populations is critical for future estimates of population diversity, density, and their ability to adjust to an ever changing climate. Current methods for estimating population movement entail a dispersal kernel, which is a probability density function of seed dispersal distances. Although these models accurately estimate short, modal dispersal distances, their estimates generally underestimate long distance dispersal (LDD), known to have the greatest effect on population spread rates. This underestimation can be attributed to the many scales at which plant movement is affected. Seed maturation (days-season), abscission (milliseconds), dispersal (minutes) and establishment (days-years) operate at different timescales and are affected by both small-scale (e.g. localized atmospheric conditions and nutrient availability) and large-scale (e.g. spatially and temporally mean wind conditions and time of day/year) phenomena. Integrating all of these scales into dispersal models has been a large challenge thus far. In this study we use short-term seed-trap and meteorological observations (30 minute means over 10 days) and long-term (season long) wind and seed availability measurements to investigate the effects of the timing of seed release at different temporal scales on long-term dispersal estimates. We show that the seeds of a wind dispersed tropical tree, Luehea seemannii, are released more than would be expected by the seasonal seed availability, in conditions of strong updraft and high temperature. Seeds also rarely release at night. We use phenomenological (super-WALD) and mechanistic (CELC) models to estimate the relative strengths of such effects and to integrate the effects of fast processes to season-long dispersal kernels. We find that that abscission in updrafts largely increase the probability of long-distance dispersal events. Daily release (as opposed to nightly) improves both the short and long distance dispersal. By scanning the canopy structure with LIDAR, we show that LDD, which increases the area that can be explored by dispersing seeds, improves the probability of finding favorable conditions, such as a recent forest gap.
Gil Bohrer (Committee Chair)
Peter Curtis (Committee Member)
Ethan Kubatko (Committee Member)
66 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Maurer, K. D. (2011). The Bias towards Updrafts for Seed Abscission of Wind Dispersing Plants and its Effects on Dispersal Kernels [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1316095873

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Maurer, Kyle. The Bias towards Updrafts for Seed Abscission of Wind Dispersing Plants and its Effects on Dispersal Kernels. 2011. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1316095873.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Maurer, Kyle. "The Bias towards Updrafts for Seed Abscission of Wind Dispersing Plants and its Effects on Dispersal Kernels." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1316095873

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)