Search results for "Myrmecochory"

showing 5 items of 5 documents

Does an ant-dispersed plant, Viola reichenbachiana, suffer from reduced seed dispersal under inundation disturbances?

2008

Many plant species use ants as seed dispersers. This dispersal mode is considered to be susceptible to disturbances, but the effect of natural, small-scale disturbances is still unknown. We investigated how small-scale disturbances due to inundation affect seed dispersal in Viola reichenbachiana, a dominant myrmecochorous herb in riparian forests. Inundation disturbances were high in depressions and low on hillocks of the forest floor. We found that V reichenbachiana was similarly abundant at highly and less disturbed sites, contrary to other, non ant-dispersed species. We also found that the motivation of ants to disperse seeds was higher at highly disturbed sites. Nevertheless, the number…

0106 biological sciencesSeed dispersalconsequencesmutualismMyrmecochoryRiparian forestBiology010603 evolutionary biology01 natural sciencesForest herbsMyrmecochoryBotanyRiparian forestBehaviourWageningen Environmental Research[SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces environmentEcology Evolution Behavior and SystematicsDemographyForest floorMutualism (biology)geographygeography.geographical_feature_categorymyrmecochoryEcologySmall-scale disturbance15. Life on landbiology.organism_classificationCentrum EcosystemenformicidaeSeed dispersal syndromeCentre for Ecosystem StudiesstrategiesAnimal–plant mutualismSeed-dispersal motivationViola reichenbachianaBiological dispersalhymenopteragrassland[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology010606 plant biology & botany
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Conservation aspects for chasmophytic species: Phenological behavior and seed strategies of the Central Apennine threatened endemismMoehringia papulo…

2012

Abstract Chasmophytic vegetation growing on the cracks of cliffs in the Mediterranean and in the Euro-Siberian phytogeographic regions shows a great regional diversity, with a large number of endemic plant species, many of them endangered and at risk of extinction. Moehringia papulosa is an example of a threatened plant living in this kind of habitat. It is an endemism of the Marche region in central Italy, whose natural populations are considered as critically endangered (CR) under the IUCN criteria and the habitat is protected by the E.U. (Directive 92/43/EEC) with the habitat 8210 “calcareous rocky slopes with chasmophytic vegetation”. The phenology of natural populations was analyzed, s…

Critically endangeredHabitatEcologyThreatened speciesEndangered speciesIUCN Red ListMyrmecochoryPlant ScienceElaiosomeBiologyEndemismEcology Evolution Behavior and SystematicsPlant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology
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A stochastic model of seed dispersal pattern to assess seed predation by ants in annual dry grasslands

2005

A combined field experiment and modelling approach has been used to provide evidence that ants may be responsible for an observed lower patchiness and higher plant diversity in the neighbourhood of ant nests, within Mediterranean dry grasslands belonging to the phytosociological class Tuberarietea guttatae. The hypothesis was that seeds occurring in clumps may have an higher probability to be harvested than seeds having a scattered distribution. In order to test this hypothesis, four analysis steps have been performed. First, the seed productivity and dispersal pattern was recorded for four plant species found, either more abundant beside the ant nests (Tuberaria guttata, Euphorbia exigua) …

EcologyEcologySeed dispersalTuberaria guttataField experimentMyrmecochoryTherophytes Ants Granivory Myrmecophily Small-scale disturbance Tuberarietea guttatae.Plant ScienceBiologybiology.organism_classificationMyrmecophilySeed dispersal syndromeSeed predationSettore BIO/03 - Botanica Ambientale E ApplicataBiological dispersalPlant Ecology
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PHENOLOGICAL ADAPTATION OF ANT-DISPERSED PLANTS TO SEASONAL VARIATION IN ANT ACTIVITY

2002

We studied a temperate plant community to examine whether the reproductive phenology of ant-dispersed plants is correlated with seasonal variation in seed dispersal activity of ants. We documented flowering and fruiting peak of 24 ant-dispersed and 251 non-ant-dispersed plant species. To characterize the activity of ants, we quantified the seasonal removal rates of greater celandine (Chelidonium majus) seeds. Ant-dispersed plants flowered on average 5.6 wk and fruited 7.1 wk earlier than those with other dispersal modes. This difference was not caused by variation in growth form or habitat. Mean fruiting peak of ant-dispersed plants was early July. Ant activity was especially high between M…

FructificationEcologyPhenologySeed dispersalfungifood and beveragesMyrmecochoryPlant communitybiochemical phenomena metabolism and nutritionBiologySeasonalitymedicine.diseaseSeed dispersal syndromebehavior and behavior mechanismsmedicineBiological dispersalreproductive and urinary physiologyEcology Evolution Behavior and SystematicsEcology
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Seed dispersal by ants: are seed preferences influenced by foraging strategies or historical constraints?

2003

Summary The objective of this study was to quantify preferences of ants for seeds of different plant species and to test if these preferences were caused by foraging strategies or by historical constraints. We compared seed removal rates of ten different ant-dispersed plant species found in temperate forests, along forest edges and in grassland. We found significant differences in seed removal rates among the ten species. To test if these differences were caused by foraging strategies we examined the relationship between seed and elaiosome size and seed removal rate. We found that seeds with larger elaiosomes had significantly higher removal rates. To test the historical constraint hypothes…

geographygeography.geographical_feature_categoryEcologyEcologySeed dispersalForagingMyrmecochoryPlant ScienceElaiosomeBiologyGrasslandSeed dispersal syndromeHabitatTemperate rainforestEcology Evolution Behavior and SystematicsFlora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants
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