Recovery and germination ofProsopis juliflora(Sw.) DC seeds after ingestion by goats and cattle

Can camels disperse seeds of the invasive tree Prosopis juliflora?

“…We addressed three specific questions: (i) ‘What percentage of P. juliflora seeds pass through the camel's gut without physical damage and loss of viability?’; (ii) ‘What is the temporal pattern of seed defecation?’ and (iii) ‘Does ingestion by camels enhance or depress seed germination?’. In view of the spread of P. juliflora along the commercial routes of camels in south‐east Egypt and based on previous data on endozoochory of P. juliflora (Alvarez et al ., ), we hypothesised that ~15% of P. juliflora seeds would survive passing through the camel's gut, at the same time that their germination would be enhanced, as recorded previously after ingestion of Prosopis seeds by other mammal species (Campos & Ojeda, ; Kramp et al ., ; Gonçalves et al ., ; Alvarez et al ., ). To our knowledge, this is the first work studying the potential of the camel as a vector of endozoochory.…”

“…Alvarez et al . () reported that the recovery of ingested seeds of P. juliflora by goats and cattle was generally low (7% and 15% respectively), suggesting that most of them were destroyed by chewing and rumination processes. Seed recovery percentages of 20% (goat) and 60% (cattle) have been reported from ingested fruits of several Mimosoideae species in Tanzania (Shayo & Uden, ).…”

“…2 years of age were individually fed and housed. Four animals is a typical sample size for endozoochory experiments with animals as large as camels (see Alvarez et al ., ). At the beginning of the experiment, 70 fruits of P. juliflora , which represented approximately 1050 seeds (with a range of 770–1300 seeds) were offered to each camel.…”

Classification of Prosopis juliflora invasion in the Lake Baringo basin and environmental correlations

“…This area is characterised by an annual rainfall of 450–900 mm (Odada, Onyando, & Obudho, ) and a mean temperature of 24.6°C (Fick & Hijmans, ). The geological basement is composed by basalt plateaus, which are cracked and tilted due to tectonic movements, alternating with sedimentary deposits of clay and loam (Alvarez et al, ; Touber, ). The dominant vegetation in the area has been described as Acacia ‐ Commiphora bushlands (Lillesø et al, ) and V. tortilis (formerly Acacia tortilis ) woodlands (Alvarez et al, ).…”

“…Several factors contribute to Prosopis species becoming successful invaders. Thus, seed dispersal by endozoochory has been claimed as one of the most important autecological drivers of invasive spread, especially due to its facilitation by abundant and widespread free‐roaming livestock in the area (Alvarez, Leparmarai, Heller, & Becker, ; Becker et al, ). Another factor contributing the competitive ability of Prosopis is the release of allelochemicals, inhibiting growth of other species and resulting in low plant diversity under the canopy of Prosopis (Getachew, Demissew, & Woldemariam, ).…”