Ants, rodents and seed predation in Proteaceae

Bond, William J.; Breytenbach, G.J.

doi:10.1080/02541858.1985.11447928

Cited by 77 publications

(52 citation statements)

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“…Whether predation will be a major source of mortality for buried seeds in natural populations will depend on the rate at which ants remove elaiosomes once the seeds are buried and the extent to which ants deter rodent predators. Previous studies have also shown that rodents can more readily discover buried seeds with elaiosomes (Heithaus 1981), but their ability to detect seeds diminishes with burial depth (Bond and Breytenbach 1985). Although we also found a significant effect of burial depth on seed survival (Table 1a), there was no interaction between depth and the presence of elaiosomes, suggesting that increased mortality near the soil surface could not be explained by rodent granivory alone.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 48%

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Cryptic Consequences of a Dispersal Mutualism: Seed Burial, Elaiosome Removal, and Seed-Bank Dynamics

Christian

Stanton

2004

Ecology

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Abstract. In moving seeds from one location to another, dispersers define the ecological context that a plant will experience throughout its lifetime. Because seed deposition sites may benefit one plant life cycle stage but not others, dispersal may give rise to a conflict between a plant's dispersal needs (e.g., predator escape) and its requirements for successful establishment (e.g., suitable habitat). In this study, we assessed the effects of two components of seed dispersal by ants (seed burial depth and elaiosome removal) at several stages during the recruitment of Leucospermum truncatulum, an ant-dispersed plant from the fynbos shrublands of South Africa. A seed-predator exclusion experiment revealed that the removal of elaiosomes significantly reduced rodent predation on seeds buried 1 cm deep and increased the viability of seeds that were not consumed. In contrast, we found that elaiosomes had no effect on the probability of a living seed emerging as a seedling. In a seed burial depth experiment in which predators were not excluded, deeper burial significantly enhanced seed survival, but this benefit came at the expense of reduced seedling emergence, delayed emergence, and smaller cotyledon size. Despite the potential importance of these seedling characteristics, elaiosomes and burial depth had no significant effect on seedling survival through the first year of this study. In contrast, burial depth had strong positive effects on the fraction of seeds that persisted in the seed bank. Although dormant individuals may die before germinating and reproducing, those that persist at greater soil depths can play a crucial role in rescuing populations from local extinction in unpredictable environments. Given the extreme variability in fire frequency in fynbos, the net effect of seed dispersal by ants on plant populations will depend on how temporal fluctuations in fire regimes influence cost-benefit thresholds related to seed dormancy and seed mortality.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 48%

“…First, they may enhance seed survival by protecting individuals from vertebrate seed predators (Heithaus 1981, Bond andBreytenbach 1985). Seeds buried more deeply may have a greater chance of evading rodent predators (e.g., Reichman 1980, Fuchs et al 2000.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cryptic Consequences of a Dispersal Mutualism: Seed Burial, Elaiosome Removal, and Seed-Bank Dynamics

Christian

Stanton

2004

Ecology

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“…Evidence of competition between ants and rodents for seeds is given by Brown, Grover, Davidson & Lieberman (1975) and Brown & Davidson (1977). However, from the cited literature it is evident that ants rapidly find and remove seeds (Drake, 1981;Bond & Breytenbach, 1985;Majer & Lamont, 1985;Holmes et al, 1987). Under natural conditions, ants probably remove a number of seeds before they are consumed by rodents and birds.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Tydskr.Plant Grand 1990, 7(2) the seed. Heithaus (1981) and Bond & Breytenbach (1985) concluded that ants bury seed in the soil or under stones, thereby reducing the possibility of its discovery by rodents. Removal of the elaiosome of the seed by ants also reduces the ability of rodents to find the seed.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Holmes, Moll & Macdonald (1987) observed that ants removed a significant percentage of A. saligna and A. cyclops seed. Bond & Breytenbach (1985), Bond & Slingsby (1984a;1984b), Milewski & Bond (1982 and Slingsby & Bond (1981;1985) showed that ants and rodents are important predators and/or dispersers of seed of indigenous species. In this study the removal of A. longifolia seeds at the soil surface was investigated to identify the responsible animals.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Investigations on the removal by animals of Acacia longifolia (Fabaceae) seed from the soil surface at Banhoek in the southwestern Cape

Pieterse

Cairns

1990

South African Journal of Plant and Soil

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Scent‐mediated bee pollination and myrmecochory in an enigmatic geophyte with pyrogenic flowering and subterranean development of fleshy fruits

Kiepiel,

Johnson

2024

American J of Botany

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PremiseVolatile emissions from flowers and fruits play a key role in signalling to animals responsible for pollination and seed dispersal. Here, we investigated the pollination biology and chemical ecology of reproduction in Apodolirion buchananii, an African amaryllid that flowers in a leafless state soon after grassland vegetation is burnt in the dry late‐winter season.MethodsPollinators were identified through field collection and pollen loads were quantified. Floral traits including spectral reflectance and scent chemistry were documented. Bioassays using cup traps were used to test the function of floral volatiles. Fruiting biology was investigated using controlled hand‐pollination experiments and chemical analysis of fruit scent. Seed germination was scored in greenhouse trials. Seed dispersal was monitored using observations and camera trapping.ResultsThe sweetly scented white flowers of A. buchananii are pollen‐rewarding and pollinated mainly by a diverse assemblage of bees. Cup‐trap experiments demonstrated that pollinators are attracted to phenylacetaldehyde, the dominant volatile in the floral scent. Plants are shown to be self‐incompatible, and the fleshy fruits were found to emerge from the soil six months after pollination during the peak of the summer rains. Fruits emit a diverse blend of aliphatic and aromatic esters and contain large fleshy recalcitrant seeds which germinate within days of fruits splitting open. Seed dispersal by ants was recorded.ConclusionsThis first account of the reproductive biology of a species in the genus Apodolirion highlights an outcrossing mating system involving bees attracted to color and scent as well as the unusual fruiting biology and ant‐mediated system of seed dispersal.

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Ants, rodents and seed predation in Proteaceae

Cited by 77 publications

References 0 publications

Cryptic Consequences of a Dispersal Mutualism: Seed Burial, Elaiosome Removal, and Seed-Bank Dynamics

Cryptic Consequences of a Dispersal Mutualism: Seed Burial, Elaiosome Removal, and Seed-Bank Dynamics

Investigations on the removal by animals of Acacia longifolia (Fabaceae) seed from the soil surface at Banhoek in the southwestern Cape

Scent‐mediated bee pollination and myrmecochory in an enigmatic geophyte with pyrogenic flowering and subterranean development of fleshy fruits

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