Human-mediated seed dispersal over long distances

Wichmann, Matthias C.; Alexander, Matt J.; Soons, Merel B.; Galsworthy, Stephen; Dunne, Laura; Gould, Robert; Fairfax, Christina; Niggemann, Marc; Hails, Rosie S.; Bullock, James M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0529-4020. 2009 Human-mediated seed dispersal over long distances. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B, 276 (1656). 523-532. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1131

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Official URL: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/276...

Abstract/Summary

Human activities have fundamental impacts on the distribution of species through altered land use, but also directly by dispersal of propagules. Rare long-distance dispersal events have a disproportionate importance for the spread of species including invasions. While it is widely accepted that humans may act as vectors of long-distance dispersal, there are few studies that quantify this process. We studied in detail a mechanism of human-mediated dispersal (HMD). For two plant species we measured, over a wide range of distances, how many seeds are carried by humans on shoes. While over half of the seeds fell off within 5m, seeds were regularly still attached to shoes after 5km. Semi-mechanistic models were fitted, and these suggested that long-distance dispersal on shoes is facilitated by decreasing seed detachment probability with distance. Mechanistic modelling showed that the primary vector, wind, was less important as an agent of long-distance dispersal, dispersing seeds less than 250m. Full dispersal kernels were derived by combining the models for primary dispersal by wind and secondary dispersal by humans. These suggest that walking humans can disperse seeds to very long distances, up to at least 10km, and provide some of the first quantified dispersal kernels for HMD.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1131
Programmes:	CEH Programmes pre-2009 publications > Biodiversity
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Hails
ISSN:	0962-8444
Additional Keywords:	human impacts, human-mediated dispersal, long-distance dispersal, mechanistic models, shoe dispersal, wind dispersal
NORA Subject Terms:	Biology and Microbiology Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	20 Jan 2009 11:48 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/5476

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1131

Programmes:

CEH Programmes pre-2009 publications > Biodiversity

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Hails

ISSN:

0962-8444

Additional Keywords:

human impacts, human-mediated dispersal, long-distance dispersal, mechanistic models, shoe dispersal, wind dispersal