scholarly journals Odor of achlorophyllous plants' seeds drives seed-dispersing ants

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikihisa Yamada ◽  
Masaru Hojo ◽  
Akio Imamura
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Fleshy Fruit ◽  
Herbaceous Plant ◽  
Evolutionary Pathway ◽  
Fungal Host ◽  
Directed Dispersal ◽  
Important Means ◽  
Moisture Conditions ◽  
Achlorophyllous Plants

Seed dispersal by ants is an important means of migration for plants. Although many 34 myrmecochorous plants have seeds containing elaiosome, a nutritional reward for ants, some 35 non-myrmecochorous seeds without elaiosomes are also dispersed by ant species. However, the 36 mechanism by which seeds without elaiosomes enable efficient dispersal by ants is scarcely 37 investigated. The seeds of the achlorophyllous and myco-heterotrophic herbaceous plant 38 Monotropastrum humile are very small without elaiosomes and require a fungal host for 39 germination and survival. We performed a bioassay using seeds of M. humile and the ant 40 Nylanderia flavipes to demonstrate ant-mediated seed dispersal. We also analyzed the volatile 41 odors emitted from M. humile seeds and conducted bioassays using dummy seeds coated with 42 seed volatiles. Although elaiosomes were absent from the M. humile seeds, the ants carried the 43 seeds to their nests. They also carried the dummy seeds coated with the seed volatile mixture to 44 the nest, and left some dummy seeds inside the nest and discarded the rest of the dummy seeds 45 outside the nest with a bias toward locations with moisture conditions, which might be 46 conducive to germination. We concluded that seeds of M. humile were dispersed by the ants, 47 and that seed odors were sufficient to induce directed dispersal even without elaiosomes. It is 48 probable that the fleshy fruit producing genus Monotropastrum evolved from the related 49 anemochorous genus Monotropa, which produces capsule fruit. This transformation from 50 anemochory to myrmecochory presents a novel evolutionary pathway toward ant-mediated seed 51 dispersal in an achlorophyllous plant.

Seasonal variation in fleshy fruit use and seed dispersal by the Japanese black bear (Ursus thibetanus japonicus)

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 471-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuaki Takahashi ◽  
Tadatoshi Shiota ◽  
Hiroo Tamatani ◽  
Masaru Koyama ◽  
Izumi Washitani
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Black Bear ◽  
Fleshy Fruit ◽  
Ursus Thibetanus

Traits of perch trees promote seed dispersal of endemic fleshy-fruit species in degraded areas of endangered Mediterranean ecosystems

2019 ◽  
Vol 170 ◽  
pp. 103995
Author(s):  
Alejandro Miranda ◽  
Inao A. Vásquez ◽  
Pablo Becerra ◽  
Cecilia Smith-Ramírez ◽  
Cristian A. Delpiano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Mediterranean Ecosystems ◽  
Fleshy Fruit ◽  
Fruit Species

scholarly journals Interspecific Difference in Seed Dispersal Characteristics between Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata) and Sympatric Japanese Martens (Martes melampus)

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 711-720
Author(s):  
Yamato Tsuji ◽  
Risma Yanti ◽  
Atsushi Takizawa ◽  
Toshio Hagiwara
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Macaca Fuscata ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Japanese Macaques ◽  
Interspecific Difference ◽  
Herbaceous Plant ◽  
Plant Seeds ◽  
Faecal Samples ◽  
Martes Melampus

We compared the characteristics of seeds within faeces between semi-terrestrial Japanese macaques (<i>Macaca fuscata</i>) and sympatric arboreal Japanese martens (<i>Martes melampus</i>) in Shiga Heights, central Japan. We collected faecal samples of the two mammalian species for 1 year (<i>n</i> = 229 for macaques and <i>n</i> = 22 for martens). We then compared the proportion of seed occurrence, life-form composition, number of seeds and species richness within single faecal samples, and the seed intact ratio between the two mammalian species. We detected seeds from 20 and 7 species from macaque and marten faeces, respectively. Macaque faeces contained seeds of multiple strata, while marten faeces contained no herbaceous plant seeds. Seed sizes within faeces showed no interspecific difference. For macaques, seeds were found within faecal samples collected in late spring to late fall, while for martens, seeds were found between summer and winter. The proportion of seed occurrence was greater in summer (both species) and fall (macaques), which implied that the seed dispersal roles of macaques and martens was greater in these seasons. The mean seed number (across species), intact ratio of seeds (high for both species) and seed species richness within single faecal samples of macaques and martens showed no significant differences, but for several species, martens defecated more seeds than macaques and showed higher intact ratio. Our study indicates that sympatric mammals in the temperate regions of Japan contribute differently to seed dispersal in forest ecosystems.

scholarly journals Secondary seed dispersal of Ricinus communis Linnaeus (Euphorbiaceae) by ants in secondary growth vegetation in Minas Gerais

2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1013-1018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mário Marcos do Espírito Santo
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Natural Population ◽  
Ricinus Communis ◽  
Secondary Growth ◽  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Atta Sexdens ◽  
Directed Dispersal ◽  
Ballistic Dispersal ◽  
Secondary Seed Dispersal

In this study, I tested the efficacy of ants as secondary seed dispersers of Ricinus communis in southeastern Brazil. In a natural population of 143 individuals, I determined the ballistic dispersal distance for 62 seeds and 100 additional seeds were experimentally offered to ants in groups of ten seeds along a transect of 50 m. Fifty-three seeds were removed by ants, mainly by the leafcutter Atta sexdens (90.4%). The dispersal distance by ants was high, compared to the global average (4.38 m ± 0.74 m vs. 0.96 m), but was lower than the ballistic distance (7.27 m ± 0.13 m). Ants increased the total dispersal distance (8.66 m ± 0.60 m), but the main benefit for the plant was the directed dispersal, with seed deposition on the enriched soil of ant nests.

scholarly journals Dispersal of semi-fleshy fruits to rock crevices by a rock-restricted rodent

2017 ◽  
Vol 113 (11/12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph D.M. White ◽  
Jeremy J. Midgley
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Rock Outcrops ◽  
Fleshy Fruits ◽  
Directed Dispersal ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
Successive Generations ◽  
Rocky Habitats

Seed dispersal allows successive generations of plants to be mobile in space and time. Heeria argentea’s unusual fruit and its ubiquity in extremely rocky habitats, suggests that this tree requires a specialist disperser. We therefore investigated the dispersal ecology of H. argentea and Hartogiella schinoides. We found M. namaquensis rapidly removed H. argentea and H. schinoides fruits, moving them short distances within and between rock outcrops, and consumed only the pericarps. Birds were observed consuming H. schinoides, but not H. argentea fruits, suggesting M. namaquensis is its sole, specialist disperser. Most H. argentea seeds (65%) with removed pericarps germinated successfully, while intact fruits did not. We show rock outcrops represent fire refugia, allowing H. argentea trees to grow to large sizes, with small stems and a co-occurring, wind-dispersed tree, Widdringtonia nodiflora found away from these sites. This rodent–tree mutualism is perhaps the clearest global example of directed dispersal and shows that these endemic trees are highly adapted for survival in the southwestern Cape habitat and are not tropical relicts.

Plant-Animal Interactions

Monteverde ◽  
2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Greg Murray ◽  
Sharon Kinsman
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Fleshy Fruit ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Plant Seed ◽  
Seed Disperser ◽  
Nesting Sites ◽  
Plant Animal Interactions ◽  
Whole Plants ◽  
Plant Herbivore ◽  
Plant Pollinator

The term “plant-animal interactions” includes a diverse array of biologically important relationships. Plant-herbivore relationships (in which an animal feeds on whole plants or parts of them) are examples of exploitation, because one species benefits from the interaction while the other suffers. Plant-pollinator and plant-seed disperser relationships (in which animals disperse pollen or seeds, usually in return for a food reward) are examples of mutualisms because they are beneficial to both parties. Another class of plant-animal mutualisms involves plants that provide nesting sites and/or food rewards to ants, which often protect the plant from herbivores or competing plants. Plantpollinator and plant-seed disperser mutualisms probably originated as cases of exploitation of plants by animals (Thompson 1982, Crepet 1983, Tiffney 1986). Many of the distinctive plant structures associated with animal-mediated pollen and seed dispersal (e.g., flowers, nectaries, attractive odors, fleshy fruit pulp, and thickened seed coats) presumably evolved to attract consumers of floral or seed resources while preventing them from digesting the pollen or seeds. mutualisms in structuring ecological communities. Competition and predator-prey interactions were more common subjects. Botanists had described the characteristics of the plant and animal players in pollination and seed dispersal mutualisms (Knuth 1906, 1908, 1909, Ridley 1930, van der Pijl 1969, Faegri and van der Pijl 1979), but these descriptive works did not fully examine plant-animal mutualisms in the context of communities. The opportunity to work in the neotropics, facilitated by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), and other institutions, attracted the attention of temperate-zone ecologists to the mutualisms that are much more conspicuous components of tropical systems than of temperate ones (Wheelwright 1988b). Plant-pollinator interactions have attracted more attention in Monteverde than plant-frugivore interactions, and plant-herbivore interactions remain conspicuously understudied. This imbalance probably reflects the interests of those who first worked at Monteverde and later returned with their own students, rather than differences in the significance of the interactions at Monteverde or elsewhere. Aside from a few studies of herbivory in particular species (e.g., Peck, “Agroecology of Prosapia,”), even basic surveys remain to be done.

Scatter-hoarding by musky rat-kangaroos, Hypsiprymnodon moschatus, a tropical rain-forest marsupial from Australia: implications for seed dispersal

2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 619-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Dennis
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Tropical Rain Forest ◽  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Fleshy Fruit ◽  
Scatter Hoarding ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
The World ◽  
Line Tracking

Tropical forests around the world contain animals that scatter-hoard fruits and seeds but few are known in Australian tropical forests. This study used both direct observation and spool-and-line tracking of simulated fruits to demonstrate that Australia's smallest kangaroos disperse large numbers of rain-forest fruits and seeds. They did so in two ways, either by scatter-hoarding or by carrying them away from the source to devour the flesh before dropping the seed on to the litter surface. The fruits used included a range of fruit types but particularly species with large fleshy fruit. Caches occurred as a single fruit pressed into the soil and covered with litter a mean distance of 17 m (±2.7 SE) and up to 68 m from the source. Musky rat-kangaroos handled up to 2700 fruits ha-1 mo-1 and they dispersed up to 900 fruits ha-1 mo-1 and cached up to 690 fruits ha-1 mo-1. This behaviour is a significant example of convergent evolution, which reflects similar behaviour found in agoutis, acouchies and squirrels on other continents.

Topoi in der Musik Béla Bartóks

2013 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-299
Author(s):  
Jürgen Hunkemöller
Keyword(s):  
Bird Song ◽  
Musical Analysis ◽  
Piano Concerto ◽  
The Third ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Important Means

The recognition of topoi, i.e. traditional formulae, is an important means of musical analysis. To illustrate this, the paper discusses the types of the battaglia and the pastoral in Bach’s Cantata Halt im Gedächtnis Jesum Christ, and briefly enumerates different types of allusions to jazz in 20th-century compositions by Stravinsky, Milhaud, Blacher, Tippet, and Zimmermann. Then it raises the possibility of an analysis of topoi in Bartók’s music in four main categories. It considers Bartók’s musical quotations from Bach to Shostakovich; the chorale as special topos appearing in Mikrokosmos, in the Concerto for Orchestra, in the Adagio religioso of the Third Piano Concerto; the topos-like employment of the tritone; and finally the idea of a Bartókian Arcadia in the Finale of Music for Strings, and the integration of bird song in the Adagio religioso.

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