Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T19:16:40.597Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Potential Role of Passenger Pigeons and Other Vertebrates in the Rapid Holocene Migrations of Nut Trees

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Sara L. Webb
Sara L. Webb*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Behavioral Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Rapid rates of species range extension during the Holocene represent seed dispersal distances of at least 6 to 8 km per generation for North American species of Fagus, Quercus, and Carya, taxa whose fruits are heavy nuts. Occasional seed dispersal by biotic seed predators is necessary for these dispersal distances. One likely agent for dispersal across long distances and habitat discontinuities was the extinct (since 1914 A.D.) passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius). This bird's abundance, capacity for delayed digestion, and nomadic habits strongly suggest an occasional seed dispersal role, although a coevolutionary seed dispersal relationship cannot be inferred from available evidence. The capacity of some heavy seeds for dispersal distances greater than those of most light, wind-dispersed seeds has biogeographic and genetic implications.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , November 1986 , pp. 367 - 375
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Audubon, J.J. (1831). Ornithological Biography Vol. 5 EdinburghGoogle Scholar
Bennett, L.J. English, P.F. Watts, R.L. (1943). The food habits of the black bear in Pennsylvania Journal of Mammalogy 24 25 31 Google Scholar
Bernabo, J.C. Webb, T. III (1977). Changing patterns in the Holocene pollen record of northeastern North America: A mapped summary Quaternary Research 8 64 96 Google Scholar
Brodkorb, P. (1971). Catalogue of fossil birds, Part 4 (Columbiformes through Piciformes) Bulletin of the Florida State Museum (Biological Sciences) 15 4 Google Scholar
Cahalane, V.H. (1942). Caching and recovery of food by the western fox squirrel Journal of Wildlife Management 6 338 352 Google Scholar
Campbell, J.T. (1886). Causes of forest rotation American Naturalist 20 521 527 851 856 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carlquist, S. (1974). Island Biology Columbia, New YorkGoogle Scholar
Clute, W.N. (1923). A Dictionary of American Plant Names Clute Joliet, Ill Google Scholar
Corgan, J.X. (1974). Fossil birds of Tennessee Migrant 45 81 85 Google Scholar
Cruden, R.W. (1966). Birds as agents of long-distance dispersal for disjunct plant groups of the temperate western hemisphere Evolution 20 517 532 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dahlberg, B.L. Guettinger, R.C. (1956). The White Tailed Deer in Wisconsin Wisconsin Conservation Department Technical Wildlife Bulletin No. 14, MadisonGoogle Scholar
Darley-Hill, S. Johnson, W.C. (1981). Acorn dispersal by the blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) Oecologia 50 231 232 Google Scholar
Davis, M.B. (1976). Pleistocene biogeography of temperate deciduous forests Geoscience and Man 13 13 26 Google Scholar
Davis, M.B. (1981). Quaternary history and the stability of forest communities West, D.C. Shugart, H.H. Botkin, D.B. Forest Succession: Concepts and Applications Springer-Verlag New York 132 153 Google Scholar
Davis, M.B. (1983). Holocene vegetational history of the eastern United States Wright, H.E. Jr. Late-Quaternary Environments of the United States Vol. 2 Univ. of Minnesota Press Minneapolis 166 181 “The Holocene”Google Scholar
Davis, M.B. Woods, K.D. Webb, S.L. Futyma, R.P. (1986). Dispersal versus climate: Expansion of Fagus and Tsuga into the Upper Great Lakes Vegetatio in pressGoogle Scholar
Denton, G.H. Hughes, T.J. (1981). The Last Great Ice Sheets Wiley New York Google Scholar
deVlaming, V.L. Proctor, V.W. (1968). Dispersal of aquatic organisms: Viability of seeds recovered from the droppings of captive killdeer and mallard ducks American Journal of Botany 55 20 26 Google Scholar
Eagle, T.C. (1979). Foods of Black Bears in Great Smoky Mountains National Park M. S. thesis University of Tennessee Knoxville Google Scholar
Fowells, H.A. (1965). Silvics of Forest Trees of the United States U.S. Gov. Printing Office Washington, D.C U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Agriculture Handbook No. 271Google Scholar
Fox, J.F. (1982). Adaptations of gray squirrel behavior to autumn germination by white oak acorns Evolution 36 800 809 Google Scholar
Fry, M.E. Vaughn, C.E. (1977). Acorn selection by band-tailed pigeons California Fish and Game 63 59 60 Google Scholar
Glendenning, R. (1944). The Garry oak in British Columbia Canadian Field-Naturalist 58 61 65 Google Scholar
Goodwin, D. (1976). Crows of the World Cornell Univ. Press (Comstock) Ithaca, N.Y Google Scholar
Grant, P.R. Smith, J.N.M. Grant, B.R. Abbott, I.J. Abbott, L.K. (1975). Finch numbers, owl predation, and plant dispersal on Isle Daphne Major, Galapagos Oecologia 19 239 257 Google Scholar
Hargrave, L.L. Emslie, S.D. (1980). Passenger pigeon bones from archaeological sites in New Mexico, USA Contributions in Science (Los Angeles) 330 257 260 Google Scholar
Harper, J.L. Lovell, P.H. Moore, K.G. (1970). The shapes and sizes of seeds Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 1 327 356 Google Scholar
Hewitt, G.H. (1967). The Wild Turkey and Its Management Wildlife Society Washington, D.C Google Scholar
Howard, H. (1971). Quaternary avian remains from Dark Canyon, New Mexico Condor 73 237 240 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howe, H.F. (1985). Gomphothere fruits: A critique American Naturalist 125 853 865 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janzen, D.H. (1974). Tropical backwater rivers, animals, and mast fruiting by Diptocarpaceae Biotropica 6 69 102 Google Scholar
Janzen, D.H. Martin, P.S. (1982). Neotropical anachronisms: The fruits the gomphotheres ate Science 215 19 27 Google Scholar
Johnson, W.C. Adkisson, C.S. (1985). Dispersal of beech nuts by blue jays in fragmented landscapes American Midland Naturalist 113 319 324 Google Scholar
Kalm, P. (1911). A description of the wild pigeons which visit the southern English colonies in North America during certain years in incredible multitudes Auk 28 53 66 Google Scholar
Landers, J.L. Hamilton, R.J. Johnson, A.S. Marchinton, R.L. (1979). Foods and habitat of black bears in southeastern North Carolina Journal of Wildlife Management 43 143 153 Google Scholar
Lanner, R.M. (1983). The expansion of singleleaf pinyon in the Great Basin Thomas, D.H. The Archaeology of the Monitor Valley Vol. 2 American Museum of Natural History 167 171 Anthropology Papers 59Google Scholar
Larson, J.S. (1962). Notes on a recent squirrel emigration in New England Journal of Mammalogy 43 272 273 Google Scholar
Lewis, A.R. (1982). Selection of nuts by gray squirrels and optimal foraging theory American Midland Naturalist 107 250 257 Google Scholar
MacClintock, D. (1970). Squirrels of North America. Van Nostrand New York Google Scholar
Parmalee, P.W. (1980). Utilization of birds by the Archaic and Fremont cultural groups of Utah Contributions in Science (Los Angeles) 330 237 250 Google Scholar
Ridley, H.N. (1930). The Dispersal of Plants throughout the World Reeve Ashford, Kent Google Scholar
Roberts, T.S. (1936). Birds of Minnesota Vol. 1 Univ. of Minnesota Press Minneapolis Google Scholar
Rogers, L.L. (1976). Effects of mast and berry crop failure on survival, growth, and reproductive success of black bears Transactions of the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference 41 431 438 Google Scholar
Rogers, L.L. Applegate, R.D. (1983). Dispersal of fruit seeds by black bears Journal of Mammalogy 64 310 311 Google Scholar
Salisbury, E.J. (1942). The Reproductive Capacity of Plants Bell London Google Scholar
Sayle, M. (1924). Viability of seeds passing through the alimentary canal of pigeons Auk 41 474 475 Google Scholar
Schopmeyer, C.S. (1974). Seeds of the Woody Plants in the United States U.S. Govt. Printing Office Washington, D.C U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook No. 450Google Scholar
Schorger, A.W. (1947). An emigration of squirrels in Wisconsin Journal of Mammalogy 28 401 403 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schorger, A.W. (1955). The Passenger Pigeon: Its Natural History and Extinction Fascimile 1973 Univ. of Wisconsin Press Madison Univ. of Oklahoma Press, NormanGoogle Scholar
Seton, E.T. (1920). Migrations of the gray squirrel Journal of Mammalogy 1 53 58 Google Scholar
Silvertown, J.W. (1980). The evolutionary ecology of mast seeding in trees Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society 14 235 250 Google Scholar
Simpson, G.G. (1952). Probabilities of dispersal in geologic time American Museum of Natural History Bulletin 99 163 176 Google Scholar
Skellum, J.G. (1951). Random dispersal in theoretical populations Biometrika 38 196 218 Google Scholar
Smith, C.C. (1970). Coevolution of pine squirrels (Tamiasciurus) and conifers Ecological Monographs 40 349 371 Google Scholar
Smith, H.C. Kidd, R.S. (1971). A record of the passenger pigeon in Alberta Canadian Field-Naturalist 85 259 Google Scholar
Snow, D.W. (1965). A possible selective factor in the evolution of fruiting seasons in tropical forests Oikos 15 274 281 Google Scholar
Sork, V.L. Boucher, D.H. (1977). Dispersal of sweet pignut hickory in a predation by a year of low fruit production, and the influence of Curculionid beetle Oecologia 28 289 299 Google Scholar
Spencer, H.E. (1961). The Black Bear and Its Status in Maine Game Division Bulletin 4 3rd ed. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game Google Scholar
Stapanian, M.A. (1982). Evolution of fruiting strategies among fleshy-fruited plant species of eastern Kansas Ecology 63 1422 1431 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stiles, E.W. (1980). Patterns of fruit presentation and seed dispersal in bird-disseminated woody plants in the eastern deciduous forest American Naturalist 116 670 688 Google Scholar
Thompson, J.N. Willson, M.F. (1979). Evolution of temperate fruit-bird interactions: Phenological strategies Evolution 33 973 982 Google Scholar
Townsend, C.W. (1963). Ectopistes migratorius: The passenger pigeon Bent, A.C. Life Histories of North American Gallinaceous Birds Dover New York 379 401 Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture, (1896). Nut Culture in the United States U.S. Govt. Printing Office Washington, D.C Google Scholar
van der Pijl, L. 2nd ed. (1982). Principles of Dispersal in Higher Plants Springer-Verlag Berlin Google Scholar
van Dersal, W.R. (1940). Utilisation of oaks by birds and mammals Journal of Wildlife Management 4 404 428 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vander Wall, S.B. Balda, R.P. (1977). Coadaptations of the Clark's nutcracker and pinon pine for efficient seed harvest and dispersal Ecological Monographs 47 89 111 Google Scholar
Webb, S.L. (1983). The Holocene Extension of the Range of American beech (Fagus grandifolia) into Wisconsin: Paleoecological Evidence for Long-Distance Seed Dispersal Thesis Univ. of Minnesota Minneapolis Google Scholar
Wilson, A. (1832). American Ornithology Vol. 3 Collins New York Google Scholar
Wright, A.H. (1911). Other early records of the passenger pigeon Auk 28 346 366 Google Scholar