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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.
In general, seeds smaller than 0.1 mg are often unassisted (wind dispersed), seeds larger than 100 mg are often dispersed by vertebrates or by water, and seeds between 0.1 and 100 mg are dispersed by a large variety of dispersal modes including dispersal by a great variety of animals. [3] [23]
Seeds are attractive long-term storable food resources for animals (e.g. acorns, hazelnut, walnut); the seeds are stored some distance from the parent plant, and some escape being eaten if the animal forgets them. Myrmecochory is the dispersal of seeds by ants.
Wind and animal dispersals are two major mechanisms involved in the dispersal of conifer seeds. Wind-born seed dispersal involves two processes, namely; local neighborhood dispersal and long-distance dispersal. Long-distance dispersal distances range from 11.9–33.7 kilometres (7.4–20.9 mi) from the source. [26] Birds of the crow family ...
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.
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 ...
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 ...