Seed Dispersal Effectiveness Of Taxus Cuspidata By Frugivores Animal Feeding Behavior

Taxus(Taxus cuspidate) is the Tertiary relict plant and the important endangered wild of national protected species, that has so much value in ornamental aspect, medicine, economic. This article studies on that Animal feeding behavior influence on the spread of Taxus’s seeds through observation, investigation, catch and feeding experiments. It has three parts:the updates of basic natural populations, birds feeding behavior, rodents feeding behavior. It reveals the a mutually beneficial relationship between animals and Taxus. This study found that the endangered reasons of natural populations, and effective protection. It has theoretical significance and value.The existing population structure is unreasonable. There are so many seedling and mature individual, but few saplings. Around the mother tree, seedlings and saplings have bad updates, fierce competition. It is not conducive to seedling growth. Such structure is not conducive to the development of population. Animals play an important role in spreading the seeds of Taxus, especially birds and rodents. Through observation and feeding experiments in Mulin and Maoer mountain, we find that birds and rodents has feeding behavior and analysis the impact of this feeding behavior.The birds’ activity have relations with aspect and slope position, but be irrelevant to elevation and the crown. Birds are moving frequently in sunny slope and shady slope upper part. We observed 3 kinds of birds which ate seeds of natural yew populations.Among the 3 kinds of birds, gray back Thrush (Turdus hortulorum) and pale thrush (T. pallidus) ate both arils and seeds. They spread the seeds with excrements. The other one, general Sitta (Sitta europaea) ate and damaged the seeds, and they cannot spread the seeds. Falling fruits around the mother trees was eating by insect or rotting.The seeds grow up as usual around the mother trees. But, the germination rate is very low.The rodents’ activity have be irrelevant to elevation, canopy density and the crown. We observed 4 kinds of rodents which ate seeds of natural yew populations. Chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus) is eating on the ground and tree. Apodemus (Apodemus peninsulae), Clethrionomys (Clethrionomys rufocanus Sundevall) and voles (Microtus fortis) are eating on the ground.4 kinds of rodents are predators. The remaining seeds fall around the mother trees are feeding by insects and microbes. They are the loss of activity.