scholarly journals How and Why Has African Solanum Chosen the Elephants Only as the Seed Disperser?

Tropics ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 4 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 233-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takakazu YUMOTO ◽  
Juichi YAMAGIWA ◽  
Kazuo ASAOKA ◽  
Tamaki MARUHASHI ◽  
Ndunda MWANZA
Keyword(s):  
2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Murphy ◽  
Kay Howard ◽  
Giles E. St J. Hardy ◽  
Bernard Dell

To regenerate sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) stands in south-western Australia it is necessary to understand the complex relationship between woylies (Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi) and sandalwood. Sandalwood requires a seed disperser for successful recruitment and in the past the critically endangered woylie played an important role in dispersing and caching seeds, but it is not clear whether this mutualistic and antagonistic relationship is beneficial to regeneration efforts. An enclosure in a woodland and 46Scandium-labelled seeds, enabled study of the in situ predation of seeds, caching, the fate of cached seeds, the detection of cached seeds and predation of germinated seeds. Woylies preferentially cached sandalwood, then S. acuminatum seeds, before any interest was shown in Acacia acuminata and Gastrolobium microcarpum seeds, which were virtually all eaten in situ. Of a further 500 radiolabelled and individually numbered sandalwood seeds deployed, 42.2% were eaten in situ, 20.8% had an unknown fate and 37% were cached, with some seeds being recached up to four times. After nine months, only four cached seeds remained undisturbed. Olfaction appeared to be the primary method of cache detection. To examine the recruitment rate of cached seeds, the fate of 89 transplanted sandalwood seedlings at two study sites was followed. After one month 38% were intact and growing, but half of the transplanted seedlings were dug up and the remaining endosperm was eaten in situ or taken away. The results highlight the potential of providing seed supplies, including sandalwood seeds and seeds of their hosts, to seed-dispersal marsupials for passive ecosystem repair.


2015 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 1475-1486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ainhoa Magrach ◽  
Javier Rodríguez-Pérez ◽  
Martín Piazzon ◽  
Luis Santamaría

2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (8) ◽  
pp. 640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Ferreira Fadini ◽  
Danielly Caroline Miléo Gonçalves ◽  
Rúbia Patrícia Fernandes Reis

The present paper describes the spatial distribution of the mistletoe Psittacanthus plagiophyllus Eichl. (Loranthaceae) on its host, the cashew tree Anacardium occidentale L., in a Brazilian Amazonian savanna. Our aim was to understand the roles of bird-seed dispersers and host quality in determining the mistletoe distribution among its host trees. In 2006, we marked 118 cashews in a 4.5-ha plot and counted the number of mistletoes and the presence of seeds attached to host branches in 2006, 2007 and 2008. On average, 36% of the hosts were infected each year. The infection load and the probability of being infected increased significantly with host crown diameter. On average, 25% of the hosts received at least one mistletoe seed in each year, being taller and previously infected hosts more prone to receive seeds in all 3 years. Elaenia cristata was the main seed disperser, visiting P. plagiophyllus 48 times in 35 h of focal records. Additionally, in a field experiment, we used the presence of an infection and the host size as surrogates for host quality and tested their effect on mistletoe survivorship. After 9 months, 16.5% of seeds survived and 14% had established, but neither host conditions nor host size influenced seed survivorship. Therefore, we suggest that mistletoe distribution is a consequence of a consistent dispersal of seeds onto larger and previously parasitised hosts across years.


Oikos ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 362-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julio M. Alcántara ◽  
Pedro J. Rey ◽  
Alfonso M. Sánchez-Lafuente ◽  
Francisco Valera

2008 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ. Lapenta ◽  
P. Procópio-de-Oliveira ◽  
MCM. Kierulff ◽  
JC. Motta-Junior

The influence of the golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) as a seed disperser was studied by monitoring two groups of tamarins from December 1998 to December 2000 (871.9 hours of observations) in a forest fragment in south-east Brazil. The tamarins consumed fruits of 57 species from at least 17 families. They ingested the seeds of 39 species, and 23 of these were put to germinate in the laboratory and/or in the field. L. rosalia is a legitimate seed disperser because the seeds of all species tested germinated after ingestion, albeit some in low percentages. These primates do not show a consistent effect in final seed germination, because they benefit some species while damaging others. Feces were examined for seeds that had been preyed upon or digested.


2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 169 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.I. Shevill ◽  
C.N. Johnson

A population of the rufous spiny bandicoot Echymipera rufescens australis was studied for 14 months by live-trapping, and diets were determined by faecal analysis. The population had a high density (approximately 48 individuals on a trapping grid of 2.25 ha). A wide variety of foods were eaten, but fruits and seeds contributed the largest proportion of material to faeces, followed by invertebrates, fungi and dicot plants. Echymipera rufescens may potentially be a significant seed disperser for some plants, such as Pandanus zea. There was a short breeding season, with births occurring between December and March. Females produced one or two litters per year. Mean litter size was just under three, and litter size increased with the mother?s mass. Females produced a mean of 4.9 young per year. We conclude that although E. rufescens is a ?typical? bandicoot in that it is omnivorous and has high fecundity, it is more frugivorous and has a somewhat lower reproductive rate than other Australian bandicoots.


2012 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 74-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinsuke Koike ◽  
Hideto Morimoto ◽  
Chinatsu Kozakai ◽  
Isao Arimoto ◽  
Masashi Soga ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Martín-García ◽  
Anna Perera ◽  
Nuria Riera Riera ◽  
Valentín Pérez-Mellado

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