Study On The Feeding Habits Of Long-eared Hedgehog And Its Effect On The Endozoochory Of Seeds Of Caper

Animal and plant interaction has been a hot topic in recent years,and studies on the role of animals on seed dispersal are an important area of research.The quantitate aspect of seed dispersal involve seed percentage in feeding habits of animal.The qualitative aspect of seed dispersal involve digesta effect on seed germination and defecation sites effect on seeding plant.The digesta retention time of food in animal is one of important factors affecting the quality of seed dispersal.The study site is located in the Turpan Eremophytes Botanic Garden in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.The study time were from August to October 2015and August to October 2016.Diet and trophic niche of long-eared hedgehog(Hemiechinus auritus)were analyzed by pellets analysis technique.The digesta retention time and its influencing factors in long-eared hedgehog was investigated in captive.The effect of passing through the digestive tract of long-eared hedgehog on water uptake in the germination of the seeds of caper(Capparis spinosa)was examined in this study.The results showed:(1)The long-eared hedgehog mainly feed on insects and caper fruit in the Turpan Eremophytes Botanic Garden.Insects are the most common food of the long-eared hedgehog,the frequency of occurrence in each month is the largest;caper fruit was the largest food intake in September.There are some differences in the composition of food in different months,which may be related to changes in food availabltity.(2)The time of first marker appearance(TT)and mean retention time of markers(MRT)were significantly greater in the adult than in the young.However,time of last appearance of a marker(TLA)between adult and the young was not significant different.TLA and MRT between groups of food type and marker size were not significant different,but TT and MRT were significantly greater in the adult than in the young.TT in sausage were significantly greater than in caper fruit.MRT in sausage including middle marker was significantly less than in caper seeds(F=10.128;df=36;P=0.000<0.05).(3)Passage of the seeds through the long-eared hedgehog digestive tract increased the quantity of their water uptake(0–12 h),the speed of water uptake(0–12 h),and both the total water uptake percentages(0–2 h,10 h)and the water uptake percentage over time(0–2 h).The long-eared hedgehog digestive tract had no significant effect on the caper seed germination rate.However,the germination rate of caper seeds that had passed through the long-eared hedgehog digestive tract and then soaked in GA₃was significantly higher than those of experimental group seeds that were soaked in GA₃,and their germination period was lengthened as well.The TTC test showed that there were no significant differences in caper seed viability between any of the tested groups.There is significant destroy of seed coat microstructure after passing through the digestive tract,consistent with the scarification effect hypothesis.The results of the feeding analysis showed that the hedgehog played an active role in the seed diffusion of caper,the age,food type and marker size(seed size)is important factors affecting its digesta retention time.The effect of passage through the long-eared hedgehog digestive tract is to increase the water uptake capability and to break down the mechanical barriers of caper seeds,indirectly improving seed germination while having no effect on seed viability.