Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Seed dispersal via ingestion and defecation by vertebrate animals (mostly birds and mammals), or endozoochory, is the dispersal mechanism for most tree species. [29] Endozoochory is generally a coevolved mutualistic relationship in which a plant surrounds seeds with an edible, nutritious fruit as a good food resource for animals that consume it.
The patterns of seed dispersal are determined in large part by the specific dispersal mechanism, and this has important implications for the demographic and genetic structure of plant populations, as well as migration patterns and species interactions. There are five main modes of seed dispersal: gravity, wind, ballistic, water, and by animals.
Ants disperse seeds in fairly predictable ways, either by disposing of them in underground middens or by ejecting them from the nest. [2] These patterns of ant dispersal are predictable enough to permit plants to manipulate animal behaviour and influence seed fate, [13] effectively directing the dispersal of seeds to desirable sites. For ...
These seeds may then be later deposited in a process called diplochory, where a seed is moved by more than one dispersal agent. This greatly affects seed dispersal outcomes as carnivores range widely and make dispersed populations have more connected genes. [10] Birds act as dispersal vectors for its other types as well.
Longer dispersal distances and potentially larger ecological consequences follow from sequential endochory by two different animals, i.e. diploendozoochory: a primary disperser that initially consumes the seed, and a secondary, carnivorous animal that kills and eats the primary consumer along with the seeds in the prey's digestive tract, and ...
Zoochory is the dispersal of seeds by animals and can be further divided into three classes. Endozoochory is seed dispersal by animal ingestion and defecation of a seed. In a mutualistic behavior, the animal is rewarded with nutritious fruit while harmlessly dispersing the seed or seeds, thereby increasing their fitness and chances for survival.
Frugivore seed dispersal is a common phenomenon in many ecosystems. However, it is not a highly specific type of plant–animal interaction. For example, a single species of frugivorous bird may disperse fruits from several species of plants, or a few species of bird may disperse seeds of one plant species. [3]
Seed dispersal syndromes are complexes of fruit traits that enable plants to disperse seeds by wind, water, or mobile animals. The kind of fruits that birds are attracted to eat are usually small, with only a thin protective skin, and the colors are red or dark shades of blue or purple.