Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T11:18:50.621Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Diaspore morphology and the potential for attachment to animal coats in Mediterranean species: an experiment with sheep and cattle coats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2007

Isabel de Pablos  and
Begoña Peco
Isabel de Pablos
Affiliation:
Ecology Department, Autónoma University of Madrid, Cantoblanco 28049 Madrid, Spain
Begoña Peco*
Affiliation:
Ecology Department, Autónoma University of Madrid, Cantoblanco 28049 Madrid, Spain
*
*Correspondence Email: begonna.peco @uam.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Morphological traits of diaspores that can predict their potential attachment to animal coats may help to model epizoochory in plant populations and communities. The present study tested the role of seed mass, shape and the presence of dispersal structures in the attachment potential of a sample of 14 abundant species in Mediterranean grassland and shrubland, using sheep and cattle coats that were shaken mechanically using a standardized protocol. We also tested recently proposed predictive models for the attachment potential of diaspores. Attachment potential measured on cattle hide was low in comparison with sheep wool for all types of diaspores. Differences between vertically and horizontally positioned coats were significant only for cattle, in which attachment potential was higher in vertically positioned coats. Seed weight was highly significant to predict attachment potential in sheep coats, but yielded significant results only in the case of vertically positioned cattle coats. In both cases, light seeds were best retained. Shape yielded marginally significant results only in the case of horizontally positioned cattle coats. In this case, elongated seeds seemed to be best retained. The presence of appendages in diaspores was significant only for sheep, in which attachment potential was higher for seeds with appendages. Recently proposed predictive models for the attachment potential were found to be highly robust for predicting this parameter in sheep coats, and thus support their generalization for this type of coat.

Keywords

cattledispersal structuresepizoochoryseed dispersalseed massseed shapesheep
Type
Research Article
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , June 2007 , pp. 109 - 114
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agnew, A.D.Q. and Flux, J.E.C. (1970) Plant dispersal by hares (Lepus capensis L.) in Kenya. Ecology 51, 735–737.Google Scholar
Bruun, H.H. and Fritzbøger, B. (2002) The past impact of livestock husbandry on dispersal of plant seeds in the landscape of Denmark. Ambio 31, 425–431.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Couvreur, M., Vandenberghe, B., Verheyen, K. and Hermy, M. (2004) An experimental assessment of seed adhesivity on animal furs. Seed Science Research 14, 147–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fischer, S.F., Poschlod, P. and Beinlich, B. (1996) Experimental studies on the dispersal of plants and animals on sheep in calcareous grasslands. Journal of Applied Ecology 33, 1206–1222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, J.W. and Srivastava, D. (2006) Predicting local-regional richness relationships using island biogeography models. Oikos 113, 376–382.Google Scholar
Graae, B.J. (2002) The role of epizoochorous seed dispersal of forest plant species in a fragmented landscape. Seed Science Research 12, 113–121.Google Scholar
Heinken, T. (2000) Dispersal of plants by a dog in a deciduous forest. Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 122, 449–467.Google Scholar
Heinken, T. and Raudnitschka, D. (2002) Do wild ungulates contribute to the dispersal of vascular plants in central European forests by epizoochory? A case study in NE Germany. Forstwissenschaftliches Centralblatt 121, 179–194.Google Scholar
Heinken, T., Lees, R., Raudnitschka, D. and Runge, S. (2001) Epizoochorous dispersal of bryophyte stem fragments by roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa). Journal of Bryology 23, 293–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heinken, T., Hanspach, H., Raudnitschka, D. and Schauman, F. (2002) Dispersal of vascular plants by four species of wild mammals in a deciduous forest in NE Germany. Phytocoenologia 32, 627–643.Google Scholar
Higgins, S.I. and Richardson, D.M. (1999) Predicting plant migration rates in a changing world: the role of long distance dispersal. American Naturalist 153, 464–475.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, L., Dunlop, M., French, K., Leishman, M.R., Rice, B., Rodgerson, L. and Westoby, M. (1994) Predicting dispersal spectra: A minimal set of hypotheses based on plant attributes. Journal of Ecology 82, 933–950.Google Scholar
Hulme, P.E. (1996) Herbivory, plant regeneration, and species coexistence. Journal of Ecology 84, 609–615.Google Scholar
Huntly, N. (1991) Herbivores and the dynamics of communities and ecosystems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 22, 477–503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kiviniemi, K. (1996) A study of adhesive seed dispersal of three species under natural conditions. Acta Botanica Neerlandica 45, 73–83.Google Scholar
Kiviniemi, K. and Telenius, A. (1998) Experiments on adhesive dispersal by wood mouse: seed shadows and dispersal distances of 13 plant species from cultivated areas in southern Sweden. Ecography 21, 108–116.Google Scholar
Liddle, M.J. and Elgar, M.A. (1984) Multiple pathways in diaspore dispersal, exemplified by studies of Noogoora Burr (Xantium occidentale Bertol. Compositae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 88, 303–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manzano, P. and Malo, J.E. (2006) Extreme long-distance seed dispersal via sheep. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 4, 244–248.Google Scholar
McCullagh, P. and Nelder, J.A. (1983) Generalized linear models. London, Chapman & Hall.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milchunas, D.G., Sala, O.E. and Lauenroth, W.K. (1988) A generalized model of the effects of grazing by large herbivores on grassland community structure. American Naturalist 132, 87–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molinillo, M.F. and Farji-Brener, A.G. (1993) Cattle as a dispersal agent of Acaena elongata (Rosaceae) in the cordillera of Mérida, Venezuela. Journal of Range Management 46, 557–561.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mouissie, A.M., Lengkeek, W. and van Diggelen, R. (2005) Estimating adhesive seed-dispersal distances: field experiments and correlated random walks. Functional Ecology 19, 478–486.Google Scholar
Nathan, R. (2001) The challenges of studying dispersal. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 16, 481–483.Google Scholar
Nathan, R., Perry, G., Cronin, J.T., Strand, A.E. and Cain, M.L. (2003) Methods for estimating long-distance dispersal. Oikos 103, 261–273.Google Scholar
Olson, B.E., Wallander, R.T. and Kott, R.W. (1997) Recovery of spurge seed from sheep. Journal of Range Management 50, 10–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peco, B., Espigares, T. and Levassor, C. (1998) Trends and fluctuations in species abundance and richness in Mediterranean annual pastures. Applied Vegetation Science 1, 21–28.Google Scholar
Poschlod, P., Kiefer, S., Tränkle, U., Fischer, S. and Bonn, S. (1998) Plant species richness in calcareous grasslands as affected by dispersability in space and time. Applied Vegetation Science 1, 75–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ridley, H.N. (1930) The dispersal of plants throughout the world. Ashford, Kent, UK, L. Reeve and Co.Google Scholar
Römermann, C., Tackenberg, O. and Poschlod, P. (2004) Dispersability traits – external animal dispersal (Epizoochory). pp. 127–129in Knevel, I.C. (Eds) The LEDA traitbase collecting and measuring standards of life history traits of the northwest European flora. LEDA. Traitbase project online publication, available athttp://www.leda-traitbase.org/LEDAportal/.Google Scholar
Römermann, C., Tackenberg, O. and Poschlod, P. (2005) How to predict attachment potential of seeds to sheep and cattle coats from simple morphological seed traits. Oikos 110, 219–230.Google Scholar
Sánchez, A.M. and Peco, B. (2002) Dispersal mechanisms in Lavandula stoechas subsp. pedunculata: autochory and endozoochory by sheep. Seed Science Research 12, 101–111.Google Scholar
Sánchez, A., Azcárate, F.M., Arqueros, L. and Peco, B. (2001) Volumen y dimensiones como predictores del peso de semilla de especies herbáceas del centro de la Península Ibérica. Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid 59, 249–262.Google Scholar
Shmida, A. and Ellner, S. (1983) Seed dispersal on pastoral grazers in open Mediterranean chaparral, Israel. Israel Journal of Botany 32, 147–159.Google Scholar
Sorensen, A.E. (1986) Seed dispersal by adhesion. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 17, 443–463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stiles, E.W. (2000) Animals as seed dispersers. pp. 111–124in Fenner, M. (Ed.) The ecology of regeneration in plant communities (2nd edition). Wallingford, CAB International.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tackenberg, O., Römermann, C., Thompson, K. and Poschlod, P. (2006) What does diaspore morphology tell us about external animal dispersal? Evidence from standardized experiments measuring seed retention on animal-coats. Basic and Applied Ecology 7, 45–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, K., Band, S.R. and Hodgson, J.C. (1993) Seed size and shape predict persistence in the soil. Functional Ecology 7, 236–241.Google Scholar
Traba, J. and Malo, J.E. (2003) De perros, ovejas y calcetines: métodos experimentales para el análisis de la exozoocoria. Actas del VII Congreso Nacional de la Asociación Española de Ecología Terrestre, July 2003, Barcelona. Spain, pp. 144–155.Google Scholar
Traba, J., Levassor, C. and Peco, B. (2001) Dispersión de semillas por adhesión en pastizales semiáridos: una aproximación experimental. Actas de la XVI reunión científica de la SEEP, April, Alicante, Spain, pp. 129–134.Google Scholar
van der Pijl, L. (1982) Principles of dispersal in higher plants (3rd edition). New York, Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Willson, M.F. (1993) Dispersal mode, seed shadows, and colonization patterns. Vegetatio 108, 261–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar