Although mutualistic network analyses have sparked a renewed interest in the patterns and drivers of network structures within communities, few studies have explored structural patterns within populations. In an endangered tree species population, plant individuals share their bird seed dispersers; however, the factors affecting individual interaction patterns are poorly understood. In this study, four individual-based networks were built for the endangered Chinese yew, Taxus chinensis, in a fragmented forest based on bird foraging type (swallowing and pecking networks) and habitat type (networks in a bamboo patch and an evergreen broad-leaved forest patch). Species-level network metrics (species degree and specialization, d’) were used to evaluate the effects of species traits (bird and plant traits) on species-level networks and dispersal distance for T. chinensis. It was revealed that the interaction networks between T. chinensis individuals and their bird partners were influenced by foraging type and the habitat of plant distribution. Compared to the other two networks, bird swallowing and bird–fruit networks in the evergreen broad-leaved patch habitat had higher nestedness and connectance but lower modules and specialization. Bird (body weight and wing and bill lengths) and plant traits (height, crop size, and cover) significantly affected species-level network metrics such as degree and specialization. Furthermore, seed dispersal distance was influenced by species traits and the species-level metrics of fruit–bird interaction networks. These results provide new insights into individual-based seed dispersal mutualistic networks of endangered plant species under habitat fragmentation. Moreover, these findings have relevant implications for conserving and managing individual endangered trees in increasingly disturbed ecosystems.

Biodiversity is rapidly decreasing worldwide. Its great importance has been attached to conservation through in-situ and ex-situ management. Animal-mediated seed dispersal is an important ecological process, linking the threatened plants and animal partners in ex-situ habitats, and in turn affecting tree conservation. However, how bird traits affect seed dispersal within in-situ and ex-situ conservation still remains unclear. Here, we aim to answer this question. We tested whether bird traits affect seed deposition and seedling recruitment. Our results showed that 19 bird species foraged and removed Taxus chinensis (Pilger) Rehd. seeds across botanical gardens (ex-situ) and natural reserves (in-situ). The seed dispersal pattern of T. chinensis varied in the stages of seed removal and seed deposition, but showed no significant difference in the seedling recruitment stage. This showed that bird morphological and behavioral traits affected seed dispersal through the different contributions of varying bird species. Large birds and their high visitation frequency played a central role in seed removal patterns. The frequency of post-foraging habitat use was the most important factor determining the role of birds in seed deposition and the following seedling recruitment. Urocissa erythrorhyncha and Chloropsis hardwickii played the role of keystone species in seed deposition and seedling recruitment, respectively. Our results highlight the importance of bird traits in facilitating the seed dispersal of trees within in-situ and ex-situ conservation, which should be considered in future forest conservation and management.

In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of Phrynocephalus albolineatus (Reptilia, Squamata, Agamidae), which is a circular molecule of 16 808 bp in size and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, 2 ribosomal RNAs, and 2 non-coding sequence (D-loop). The mitogenome of P. albolineatus was similar to the typical mtDNA of vertebrates in gene arrangement and composition. The control region was comprised by two parts, one (992 bp) between tRNA-Phe and 12S rRNA, and the other (650 bp) between tRNA-Thr and tRNA-Pro. The A + T content of overall base of H-strand is 63.1% (T: 26.7%, C: 24.6%, A: 36.4%, G: 12.3%). The whole mitogenomic sequence of P. albolineatus provides powerful data to study the molecular systematic, population genetics and phylogeography of Squamata.

Riparian vegetation is crucial for maintaining terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity, but it is threatened by land-use activities. To assess the ecological impacts of riparian vegetation conversion to an oil tea (Camellia oleifera) plantation, we quantified the responses of small mammals in two natural habitats (mature forest and flood-meadow) and in Camellia forests at the community, population, and individual level. We found that the community diversity was similar between Camellia forests and mature forests, but higher than the flood-meadow. Meanwhile, the community composition differed across three habitats, with Camellia forests favoring habitat generalist species. At the population level, Camellia forests and flood-meadow had a similar population density, which were higher than mature forests. At the individual level, Rattus nitidus was less sensitive to this conversion, but the body condition index of Niviventer confucianus was higher in Camellia forests than in mature forests, and Apodemus agrarius in Camellia forests had more ectoparasite load than in the flood-meadow, indicating a species-specific response to the impacts of oil tea plantation. Our study highlights that the occurrence of habitat generalist species and high ectoparasite loads may threaten regional biodiversity and increase the risk of parasite transmission with enlarging the oil tea plantation area within riparian zones.