{"title":"The role of partially consumed acorn remains in scatter hoards and their implications in oak colonization","authors":"Sergio Del Arco, Jose María Del Arco","doi":"10.1007/s00265-023-03409-4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Abstract</h3><p>Past studies have revealed the benefits of rodent participation in the colonization process of oak species. Certain rodent species (<i>Apodemus sylvaticus</i> and <i>Mus spretus</i>) partially consume acorns, beginning at the basal part and preserving the embryo. Perea et al. (2011) and Yang and Yi (2012) found that during periods of abundance, the remains left after partial consumption continue to be present on the surface and are not transported to caches, given that they are perceived as leftovers. These remains, produced after several visits by the cache owner or by thieving conspecifics, also appear in the caches. If they are perceived as offal, they will not be attacked and may remain in these stores for longer periods, serving as resources for the cache builder. Our objective is to determine whether these remnants are perceived as offal by the rodent generating them or if the remains left by other rodents are considered offal. This is relevant in cases of theft, a common behavior of this species, if the thieving animals reject the remains. The results suggest that foreign remains and the rodents’ own remains are not rejected, but rather, they are consumed in preference to intact acorns. The intact acorns remain in the cache for longer periods and have a greater opportunity to germinate and emerge. Rodents prefer to consume foreign remains first. This may be due to the fact that, in case of shortage, it is considered advantageous to finish the reserves of a potential competitor before depleting one’s own reserves.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Significance statement</h3><p>Rodents participate in the acorn dissemination process by constructing surface stores (caches). The rodent species studied here partially consumes acorns, beginning with the basal part and preserving the embryo located at the apical end. These partially consumed acorn remains are considered offal and remain in the caches for longer periods, serving as reserves for the rodent. Our objective is to examine whether these acorn remains are viewed as offal by the rodents. We have found that, to the contrary, they are consumed before intact acorns. Intact acorns remain in the caches for longer periods, assuming the role of reserves and taking on a greater capacity to germinate. This species of rodent differentiates between its own remains and those of others, first consuming the foreign offal. Therefore, their own offal remains in the stores for longer periods and may potentially germinate if the embryo is preserved. This behavior has been demonstrated by this rodent species.</p>","PeriodicalId":8881,"journal":{"name":"Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-023-03409-4","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Past studies have revealed the benefits of rodent participation in the colonization process of oak species. Certain rodent species (Apodemus sylvaticus and Mus spretus) partially consume acorns, beginning at the basal part and preserving the embryo. Perea et al. (2011) and Yang and Yi (2012) found that during periods of abundance, the remains left after partial consumption continue to be present on the surface and are not transported to caches, given that they are perceived as leftovers. These remains, produced after several visits by the cache owner or by thieving conspecifics, also appear in the caches. If they are perceived as offal, they will not be attacked and may remain in these stores for longer periods, serving as resources for the cache builder. Our objective is to determine whether these remnants are perceived as offal by the rodent generating them or if the remains left by other rodents are considered offal. This is relevant in cases of theft, a common behavior of this species, if the thieving animals reject the remains. The results suggest that foreign remains and the rodents’ own remains are not rejected, but rather, they are consumed in preference to intact acorns. The intact acorns remain in the cache for longer periods and have a greater opportunity to germinate and emerge. Rodents prefer to consume foreign remains first. This may be due to the fact that, in case of shortage, it is considered advantageous to finish the reserves of a potential competitor before depleting one’s own reserves.
Significance statement
Rodents participate in the acorn dissemination process by constructing surface stores (caches). The rodent species studied here partially consumes acorns, beginning with the basal part and preserving the embryo located at the apical end. These partially consumed acorn remains are considered offal and remain in the caches for longer periods, serving as reserves for the rodent. Our objective is to examine whether these acorn remains are viewed as offal by the rodents. We have found that, to the contrary, they are consumed before intact acorns. Intact acorns remain in the caches for longer periods, assuming the role of reserves and taking on a greater capacity to germinate. This species of rodent differentiates between its own remains and those of others, first consuming the foreign offal. Therefore, their own offal remains in the stores for longer periods and may potentially germinate if the embryo is preserved. This behavior has been demonstrated by this rodent species.
摘要过去的研究已经揭示了啮齿动物参与橡树物种定植过程的好处。某些啮齿类动物(针叶鼠和野鼠)部分地吃橡子，从基部开始，并保存胚胎。Perea et al.(2011)和Yang and Yi(2012)发现，在丰度期间，部分消耗后留下的残留物继续存在于地表，而不会被运送到贮藏库，因为它们被视为剩菜。这些遗骸，在贮藏物的主人或偷来的同类多次造访后产生，也出现在贮藏物中。如果它们被认为是无用的，它们将不会受到攻击，并且可能在这些存储中保留更长的时间，作为缓存构建器的资源。我们的目标是确定这些残留物是否被产生它们的啮齿动物视为内脏，或者其他啮齿动物留下的遗骸是否被视为内脏。这与偷窃有关，这是这个物种的一种常见行为，如果偷窃的动物拒绝遗体。结果表明，外来的残骸和啮齿类动物自己的残骸并没有被拒绝，相反，它们比完整的橡子更容易被吃掉。完整的橡子在贮藏物中保存的时间更长，并且有更大的机会发芽和发芽。啮齿类动物更喜欢先吃掉外国的遗骸。这可能是因为，在短缺的情况下，在耗尽自己的储备之前完成潜在竞争对手的储备被认为是有利的。啮齿动物通过建立表面贮藏(贮藏)参与橡果的传播过程。这里研究的啮齿动物部分食用橡实，从基部开始，保存位于顶端末端的胚胎。这些部分被吃掉的橡子残骸被认为是内脏，可以在贮藏物中保存更长的时间，作为啮齿动物的储备。我们的目的是检查这些橡子残骸是否被啮齿类动物视为内脏。我们发现，恰恰相反，它们在完整的橡子之前被吃掉。完整的橡子在贮藏库中保存的时间更长，承担了储备的作用，并具有更大的发芽能力。这种啮齿动物区分自己的遗体和其他动物的遗体，首先消耗外来的内脏。因此，它们自己的内脏会在储存中保存更长的时间，如果胚胎被保存下来，它们可能会发芽。这种行为已经在这种啮齿动物身上得到了证明。
期刊介绍：
The journal publishes reviews, original contributions and commentaries dealing with quantitative empirical and theoretical studies in the analysis of animal behavior at the level of the individual, group, population, community, and species.
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