Internal dispersal of seeds by waterfowl: effect of seed size on gut passage time and germination patterns

TY - JOUR

T1 - Internal dispersal of seeds by waterfowl: effect of seed size on gut passage time and germination patterns

AU - Figuerola, J.

AU - Charalambidou, I.

AU - Santamaria, L.

AU - Green, A.J.

N1 - Reporting year: 2010 Metis note: 4777;CL; AqE; file:///L:\EndnoteDatabases\NIOOPUB\pdfs\PDFS2010\Figuerola_ea_4777.pdf

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - Long distance dispersal may have important consequences for gene flow and community structure. The dispersal of many plants depends on transport by vertebrate seed dispersers. The shapes of seed shadows produced by vertebrates depend both on movement patterns of the dispersers and on the dynamics and effects of passage through the disperser’s gut (i.e. the retention time, survival and germination of ingested seeds). A combination of experiments with captive waterbirds and aquatic plant seeds was used to analyse the following: (a) the effects of inter- and intra-specific variation in seed size and duck species on seed retention time in the gut and (b) the relationship between retention time and the percent germination and germination rates of seeds. Among the three Scirpus species used, those with smaller seeds showed higher survival after ingestion by birds and longer retention times inside their guts than those with larger seeds. For Potamogeton pectinatus, only seeds from the smaller size class (

AB - Long distance dispersal may have important consequences for gene flow and community structure. The dispersal of many plants depends on transport by vertebrate seed dispersers. The shapes of seed shadows produced by vertebrates depend both on movement patterns of the dispersers and on the dynamics and effects of passage through the disperser’s gut (i.e. the retention time, survival and germination of ingested seeds). A combination of experiments with captive waterbirds and aquatic plant seeds was used to analyse the following: (a) the effects of inter- and intra-specific variation in seed size and duck species on seed retention time in the gut and (b) the relationship between retention time and the percent germination and germination rates of seeds. Among the three Scirpus species used, those with smaller seeds showed higher survival after ingestion by birds and longer retention times inside their guts than those with larger seeds. For Potamogeton pectinatus, only seeds from the smaller size class (

U2 - 10.1007/s00114-010-0671-1

DO - 10.1007/s00114-010-0671-1

M3 - Article

SN - 0028-1042

VL - 97

SP - 555

EP - 565

JO - Naturwissenschaften

JF - Naturwissenschaften

IS - 6

ER -