Effect of Sea Water on Seed Germination in Two Pacific Atoll Beach Species

The structure of the fruits and the physiology of the seeds of Scaevola taccada (Gaertn.) Roxb. and Messerschmidia argentea (L.) I. M. Johnst. facilitate dispersal by sea currents and subsequent germination. Fruits were floated on sea water for 120 days without significant loss in germination capaci...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology (Durham) 1969-07, Vol.50 (4), p.730-734
Main Authors: Lesko, G. L., Walker, R. B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Beaches
Buoyancy
Fruits
Germination
Ocean currents
Plants
Sea water
Seeds
Soil salinity
Water distillation
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Summary:The structure of the fruits and the physiology of the seeds of Scaevola taccada (Gaertn.) Roxb. and Messerschmidia argentea (L.) I. M. Johnst. facilitate dispersal by sea currents and subsequent germination. Fruits were floated on sea water for 120 days without significant loss in germination capacity. The seeds of fruits floated on sea water germinated 1—2 weeks sooner than dry seeds, when placed in nonsaline conditions. Both rate and percentage of germination in these species decreased sharply with the increase of salinity in the substratum, and became nil at a salt concentration less than half that of sea water. The data and the observations make possible a reasonable reconstruction of the transport of these species to the Marshall Islands and their establishment on the atoll beaches. The fruits are capable of drifting the length of the dissemination route suggested by Wiens (1962), and the seeds would not germinate en route. Exposure to rain on the beaches would result in rapid germination.
ISSN:0012-9658
1939-9170
DOI:10.2307/1936271