scholarly journals Asynchrony between ant seed dispersal activity and fruit dehiscence of myrmecochorous plants

2019 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan C. C. Gordon ◽  
Shannon A. Meadley-Dunphy ◽  
Kirsten M. Prior ◽  
Megan E. Frederickson

Development ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 143 (18) ◽  
pp. 3372-3381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Balanzà ◽  
Irma Roig-Villanova ◽  
Maurizio Di Marzo ◽  
Simona Masiero ◽  
Lucia Colombo


1988 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosamond Coates-Estrada ◽  
Alejandro Estrada

ABSTRACTFruit production, frugivore foraging activity and seed dispersal was studied at 10 Cymbopetalum baillonii (Annonaceae) trees during an entire fruiting season. Fruits dehisced during the first six months of the year offer to potential dispersal agents a package of 8–24 arillate seeds. Insects and fungi, however, killed up to 14% of the seeds potentially available for dispersal before fruit dehiscence. Visitation by 24 species of birds and one mammal to the trees closely followed the availability of arillate seeds. The foraging activity of Peromyscus and Heteromys rodents accounted for ≥ 80% mortality of the seeds deposited under the crown of the parent tree. Among those seedlings that became established under the crown mortality was ≥ 90% after 12 months. Seeds dispersed under conspecific fruiting trees experienced intense predation by vertebrates. Field experiments showed that seeds and seedlings planted ≥ 30 m away from adult trees survived significantly longer than those planted under the crown and at distances ≤ 30 m. An unequivocal advantage to dispersal away from the tree and under allospecific trees was evident from the data. A very narrow range of frugivores (N = 8 species) accounted for the quality component of dispersal services to the trees. The tree with the lowest animal visitation and fruit crop was the most efficient in the dispersal of its seeds.



1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (7) ◽  
pp. 2066-2070 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Tang

Seed dispersal of the herbaceous cycad Zamia pumila was studied in the rockland pine forests of southeast Florida. Dispersal activity was found to occur over 6 months and was concentrated in two periods: after seed ripening and prior to seed germination. Seed mass and pulp-to-seed ratios were positively correlated with dispersal success at one study site. Seed shadows were generally asymmetrical in direction, with seeds tending to be deposited under nearby shrubs. Seed germination and seedling establishment is higher in shade than in sun, suggesting that the lower light intensities under shrubs are safe sites for seeds and seedlings.



2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 260-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juanjuan Lu ◽  
Bing Liu ◽  
Dunyan Tan ◽  
Carol C. Baskin ◽  
Jerry M. Baskin


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan-Jie Huang ◽  
Wen-Long Fu

Abstract Background and Aims In angiosperms, many species disperse their seeds autonomously by rapid movement of the pericarp. The fruits of these species often have long rod- or long plate-shaped pericarps, which are suitable for ejecting seeds during fruit dehiscence by bending or coiling. However, here we show that fruit with a completely different shape can also rely on pericarp movement to disperse seeds explosively, as in Orixa japonica. Methods Fruit morphology was observed by hard tissue sectioning, scanning electron microscopy and micro-computed tomography, and the seed dispersal process was analysed using a high-speed camera. Comparisons were made of the geometric characteristics of pericarps before and after fruit dehiscence, and the mechanical process of pericarp movement was simulated with the aid of the finite element model. Key Results During fruit dehydration, the water drop-shaped endocarp of O. japonica with sandwich structure produced two-way bending deformation and cracking, and its width increased more than three-fold before opening. Meanwhile the same shaped exocarp with uniform structure could only produce small passive deformation under relatively large external forces. The endocarp forced the exocarp to open by hygroscopic movement before seed launching, and the exocarp provided the acceleration for seed launching through a reaction force. Conclusions Two layers of water drop-shaped pericarp in O. japonica form a structure similar to a slingshot, which launches the seed at high speed during fruit dehiscence. The results suggest that plants with explosive seed dispersal appear to have a wide variety of fruit morphology, and through a combination of different external shapes and internal structures, they are able to move rapidly using many sophisticated mechanisms.



2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-18
Author(s):  
Luciane Lopes de Souza

Biotic or abiotic processes of seed dispersal are important for the maintenance of the diversity, and for the natural regeneration in tropical forests. Ichthyochory is one of the fundamental mechanisms for seed dispersal in flooded environments, as the “igapó” forests. A study on the ichthyochory of the igapós was conducted at Amanã Sustainable Development Reserve, in the middle Solimões river, from June 2002 to September 2004. Monthly samples of frugivorous fish were taken, with the main fishing gears used locally. Guts of 1,688 fish caught were examined. The main species were Myloplus rubripinnis (29.21%), Hemiodus immaculatus (18.96%),Colossoma macropom um (16.23%) and Mylossoma duriventre (16.05%). The diet was made of vegetables (fruits, leave and flowers), and animals (arthropods). 53.02% of all fish caught ingested fruits. The total number of intact seeds in the stomachs and intestines were 8,069 and 5,763 respectively. About 61.9% of the Brycon melanopterus (matrinchão), 46.34% of the Brycon amazonicus (mamuri) and 30.22% of M . rubripinnis (parum ) analysed had intact seeds in their guts. Seeds of Nectandra amazonum and Genipa spruceana ingested proved to be more viable than those non-ingested by fish. The high rates of frugivory, the presence of intact seeds in the guts of fish and the greater viability of ingested seeds all suggest that these animals are important seed dispersors in the “igapó” forests of Amanã Reserve.



2005 ◽  
Vol 166 (3) ◽  
pp. 368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katul ◽  
Porporato ◽  
Nathan ◽  
Siqueira ◽  
Soons ◽  
...  


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiyuan Zhao ◽  
Liquan Zhang ◽  
Xiuzhen Li ◽  
Lin Yuan ◽  
Tjeerd J. Bouma


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loreto Martínez‐Baroja ◽  
Lorenzo Pérez‐Camacho ◽  
Pedro Villar‐Salvador ◽  
Salvador Rebollo ◽  
Alexandro B. Leverkus ◽  
...  


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document