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

Szczegóły
Abstrakt

Tytuł:: Does an ant-dispersed plant, Viola reichenbachiana, suffer from reduced seed dispersal under inundation disturbances?
Autorzy:: Prinzing, Andreas
Dauber, Jens
Hammer, Edith
Hammouti, Nasera
Böhning-Gaese, Katrin
Temat:: ANTS
RIPARIAN plants
INSECT societies
SOCIAL sciences
Źródło:: Basic & Applied Ecology; Mar2008, Vol. 9 Issue 2, p108-116, 9p
Abstract (English):: Summary: 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 of seeds dispersed was similar at highly disturbed and weakly disturbed sites and seedlings of V. reichenbachiana were equally abundant. We conclude that inundation disturbances do not interfere with mutualistic seed dispersal by ants in V. reichenbachiana, and suggest that this may possibly contribute to the persistence of V. reichenbachiana under inundation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
: Czasopismo naukowe

Copyright of Basic & Applied Ecology is the property of Urban & Fischer Verlag and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Informacja