Seed Dispersal and Seedling Establishment of Sarracenia Purpurea at Hawley Bog, MA 1998-1999

<para>Plant ecologists continue to grapple with Reid’s paradox, the observation that dispersal distances of most herbs and trees are too limited to account for their recolonization of northern latitudes following glacial recession. As global climate changes and natural habitats become increasingly fragmented, understanding patterns of seed dispersal and the potential for long-distance colonization takes on new importance. We studied the dispersal and establishment of the northern pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea, which grows commonly in isolated bogs throughout Canada and eastern North America. Median dispersal distance of S. purpurea is only 5 cm, which is insufficient to explain its occurrence throughout formerly glaciated regions of North America. Establishment probability of seeds in the field is approximately 5%, and juveniles are normally found clustered around adult plants. The large-scale population genetic structure of this species can be accounted for by rare long-distance dispersal events, but its predictable occurrence in isolated habitats requires additional explanation. Reid’s paradox remains an open question, and predicting long-range colonization into fragmented habitats by species with limited dispersal ability is a novel challenge.</para> </section> </abstract> <keywordSet> <keyword>bogs</keyword> <keyword>carnivorous plants</keyword> <keyword>germination</keyword> <keyword>seed dispersal</keyword> <keyword>seedling establishment</keyword> <keywordThesaurus>LTER controlled vocabulary</keywordThesaurus> </keywordSet> <keywordSet> <keyword>populations</keyword> <keywordThesaurus>LTER core area</keywordThesaurus> </keywordSet> <keywordSet> <keyword>Harvard Forest</keyword> <keyword>HFR</keyword> <keyword>LTER</keyword> <keyword>USA</keyword> <keywordThesaurus>HFR default</keywordThesaurus> </keywordSet> <intellectualRights> <section> <para>This dataset is released to the public under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 (No Rights Reserved). Please keep the dataset creators informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset should include proper acknowledgement.</para> </section> </intellectualRights> <licensed> <licenseName>Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal</licenseName> <url>https://spdx.org/licenses/CC0-1.0.html</url> <identifier>CC0-1.0</identifier> </licensed> <distribution> <online> <url function="information">https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/exist/apps/datasets/showData.html?id=hf331</url> </online> </distribution> <coverage> <geographicCoverage> <geographicDescription>Hawley Bog (Hawley MA). Coordinates based on WGS84 datum.</geographicDescription> <boundingCoordinates> <westBoundingCoordinate>-72.89</westBoundingCoordinate> <eastBoundingCoordinate>-72.89</eastBoundingCoordinate> <northBoundingCoordinate>+42.58</northBoundingCoordinate> <southBoundingCoordinate>+42.58</southBoundingCoordinate> <boundingAltitudes> <altitudeMinimum>543</altitudeMinimum> <altitudeMaximum>543</altitudeMaximum> <altitudeUnits>meter</altitudeUnits> </boundingAltitudes> </boundingCoordinates> </geographicCoverage> <temporalCoverage> <rangeOfDates> <beginDate> <calendarDate>1998</calendarDate> </beginDate> <endDate> <calendarDate>2001</calendarDate> </endDate> </rangeOfDates> </temporalCoverage> <taxonomicCoverage> <taxonomicClassification> <taxonRankName>genus</taxonRankName> <taxonRankValue>Sarracenia</taxonRankValue> <taxonomicClassification> <taxonRankName>species</taxonRankName> <taxonRankValue>purpurea</taxonRankValue> <commonName>northern pitcher plant</commonName> </taxonomicClassification> </taxonomicClassification> </taxonomicCoverage> </coverage> <maintenance> <description> <para>complete</para> </description> </maintenance> <contact scope="document"> <positionName>Information Manager</positionName> <organizationName>Harvard Forest</organizationName> <address scope="document"> <deliveryPoint>324 North Main Street</deliveryPoint> <city>Petersham</city> <administrativeArea>MA</administrativeArea> <postalCode>01366</postalCode> <country>USA</country> </address> <phone phonetype="voice">(978) 724-3302</phone> <electronicMailAddress>hf-im@lists.fas.harvard.edu</electronicMailAddress> </contact> <publisher scope="document"> <organizationName>Harvard Forest</organizationName> <address scope="document"> <deliveryPoint>324 North Main Street</deliveryPoint> <city>Petersham</city> <administrativeArea>MA</administrativeArea> <postalCode>01366</postalCode> <country>USA</country> </address> <phone phonetype="voice">(978) 724-3302</phone> <phone phonetype="fax">(978) 724-3595</phone> <onlineUrl>https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu</onlineUrl> </publisher> <methods> <methodStep> <description> <section> <title>Estimating dispersal distance Seed dispersal distances were estimated using seed traps arrayed in a regular pattern around five isolated (no other flowering plants within a 2.5 m radius) focal plants each with a single maturing capsule. In early October 1998, prior to dehiscence and dispersal, we arrayed 20 10 × 10-cm plastic plates coated with Tanglefoot (Forestry Suppliers, Jackson, Mississippi, USA) in four concentric circles, 5, 25, 45, and 65 cm, from each target plant. Plates were aligned along 5 equiangular rays originating at the plant. From 16 October through 3 December we counted the total number of seeds on each plate weekly. Data: hf331-01-sarracenia-dispersal.csv