Seed Dispersal in Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) by Squirrels (Sciurus spp.)

Murphy, S. R.; Mitchell, Virginia; Thurman, Jessa H.; Davis, Charli N.; Moran, Matthew D.; Bonumwezi, Jessica; Katz, Sophie; Penner, Jennifer L.

doi:10.1674/0003-0031-180.2.312

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…In this paper, we define megafruit as any fleshy fruit too large for an avian disperser; in the temperate zones this is usually >25 mm, as Corvids are the largest avian dispersers, but in tropical zones with parrots and their kin, a cutoff of >40 mm has been posed (Onstein et al, 2018 ). Seed dispersal studies of small or medium-sized mammals and megafruits rather consistently demonstrate seed predation or weak dispersal ability (Murphy, 2018 ). In tropical zones, the guild of megafuanal dispersers is not restricted to mammals, and during the past few million years has included large-bodied birds and reptiles, notably tortoises (Valido and Olesen, 2007 ; Falcón et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Lost Seed-dispersal Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exaptation Traits for Megafaunal Mutualisms as a Factor in Plant Domestication

et al. 2021

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Megafaunal extinctions are recurring events that cause evolutionary ripples, as cascades of secondary extinctions and shifting selective pressures reshape ecosystems. Megafaunal browsers and grazers are major ecosystem engineers, they: keep woody vegetation suppressed; are nitrogen cyclers; and serve as seed dispersers. Most angiosperms possess sets of physiological traits that allow for the fixation of mutualisms with megafauna; some of these traits appear to serve as exaptation (preadaptation) features for farming. As an easily recognized example, fleshy fruits are, an exaptation to agriculture, as they evolved to recruit a non-human disperser. We hypothesize that the traits of rapid annual growth, self-compatibility, heavy investment in reproduction, high plasticity (wide reaction norms), and rapid evolvability were part of an adaptive syndrome for megafaunal seed dispersal. We review the evolutionary importance that megafauna had for crop and weed progenitors and discuss possible ramifications of their extinction on: (1) seed dispersal; (2) population dynamics; and (3) habitat loss. Humans replaced some of the ecological services that had been lost as a result of late Quaternary extinctions and drove rapid evolutionary change resulting in domestication.

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Section: Lost Seed-dispersal Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exaptation Traits for Megafaunal Mutualisms as a Factor in Plant Domestication

et al. 2021

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“…Possibly they and other extinct large mammals fed on Osage oranges which may have originated in South America [3,4]. This is hard to prove, but the idea seems reasonable-because there is little evidence that other large herbivores eat Osage oranges to spread their seeds [5,6]. So why are the trees still here without a herbivore to spread their seeds?…”

Section: Figure 1: An Osage Orangementioning

confidence: 99%

Fluorometry of natural latex from Maclura pomifera

2019

EESRR

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Maclura pomifera is a small tree that produces rot-resistant wood and a strange fruit called an Osage orange which is bright green. The fruits contain a high content of latex with strong fluorescence in UV light, similar in color to the green-yellow fluorescence of uranyl glass. Measurements were made using a computer-assisted microscope with grating mono chromators in both excitation and emission pathways. A photomultiplier was calibrated using a tungsten illuminator, then a mercury illuminator was used to measure the fluorescence emission spectrum: the peak was at 530 nm (green-yellow). A xenon illuminator was used to measure the fluorescence excitation spectrum: the peak was at 380 nm (UV).

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Pharmacological properties of extracts and prenylated isoflavonoids from the fruits of Osage orange (Maclura pomifera (Raf.) C.K.Schneid.)

Bailly

2024

Fitoterapia

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Seed Dispersal in Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) by Squirrels (Sciurus spp.)

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Exaptation Traits for Megafaunal Mutualisms as a Factor in Plant Domestication

Exaptation Traits for Megafaunal Mutualisms as a Factor in Plant Domestication

Fluorometry of natural latex from Maclura pomifera

Pharmacological properties of extracts and prenylated isoflavonoids from the fruits of Osage orange (Maclura pomifera (Raf.) C.K.Schneid.)

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