The Large Japanese Field Mouse (Apodemus speciosus) as a Consumer and Potential Disperser of Seeds of the Neurotoxic Japanese Star Anise (Illicium anisatum)

Tetsuro Yoshikawa

doi:10.3106/ms2022-0042

Abstract

Abstract.

The small Japanese field mouse Apodemus argenteus is known to disperse the highly toxic seeds of the Japanese star anise Illicium anisatum (Schisandraceae); however, whether the large Japanese field mouse A. speciosus does so remains unexplored. Seeds of I. anisatum were placed in mesh cages with openings sized only for small rodents and monitored at two forest sites in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, in autumn 2018. Any animals approaching or entering the cages were recorded by automated cameras with infrared motion sensors. Only A. speciosus was recorded entering the cages. At both sites, some seeds were consumed inside the cages or transported outside them. These results show that A. speciosus interacts with seeds of I. anisatum and is a potential agent of seed dispersal. Further study is needed to determine whether it can tolerate anisatin, the main neurotoxin in I. anisatum, and the possible tolerance mechanism.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3106/ms2022-0042

Received 14 8月 2022 Accepted 29 1月 2023

Acknowledgments:

I would like to thank the Tsukuba Botanical Garden at the National Museum of Nature and Science for permission to perform the field experiments. Goro Kokubugata and Taro Nikaido kindly provided support for the experiments. I also thank Akio Takenaka, Fumiko Ishihama and the staff at the National Institute for Environmental Studies for their help with my field experiments at NIES. This study was partly supported by a JSPS Kakenhi Grant to TY (No. 19K06846).

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