Why are small seeds dispersed through animal guts: Large numbers or seed size per se?
Article Abstract:
Phylogenetically independent contrasts (PICs) and cross-species analysis were used to assess if small seeds occur more often in ungulate dung because they are ingested and passed in proportion to their number in the grazed vegetation or because of their small size. It was found that seeds were ingested and passed through gut in proportion to their number in the grazed vegetation while no relationship could be found between dispersal potential and seed attributes indicating that grazing mammals may constitute an important dispersal vector for many plant species.
Publication Name: Oikos
Subject: Environmental issues
ISSN: 0030-1299
Year: 2006
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Demographic estimation methods for plants with unobservable life-states
Article Abstract:
A comparison of different methods to estimate demographic rates in plants with a dominant state is studied. Results suggest that different available methods used for studying the demography of plants with dormancy may produce very dissimilar estimates of rates of survival, state transitions, and of the fraction of dormant individuals in the population.
Publication Name: Oikos
Subject: Environmental issues
ISSN: 0030-1299
Year: 2005
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
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