Are Gastropods, Rather than Ants, Important Dispersers of Seeds of Myrmecochorous Forest Herbs?

Seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) is widespread, and seed adaptations to myrmecochory are common, especially in the form of fatty appendices (elaiosomes). In a recent study, slugs were identified as seed dispersers of myrmecochores in a central European beech forest. Here we used 105 beech fores...

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Published in:The American naturalist 2012-01, Vol.179 (1), p.124-131
Main Authors: Türke, Manfred, Andreas, Kerstin, Gossner, Martin M., Kowalski, Esther, Lange, Markus, Boch, Steffen, Socher, Stephanie A., Müller, Jörg, Prati, Daniel, Fischer, Markus, Meyhöfer, Rainer, Weisser, Wolfgang W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anemone - physiology
Animal populations
Animals
Ants
Ants - physiology
Asarum - physiology
Deciduous forests
Dispersal
Ecosystem
Fagus
Feeding Behavior
Food Chain
Forest habitats
Forest insects
Forests
Formicidae
Gastropoda - physiology
Germany
Ginger
Herbs
Insect vectors
Insects
Mollusks
Natural History Note
Plants
Population Dynamics
Rodents
Seasons
Seed Dispersal
Slugs
Species Specificity
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Summary:Seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) is widespread, and seed adaptations to myrmecochory are common, especially in the form of fatty appendices (elaiosomes). In a recent study, slugs were identified as seed dispersers of myrmecochores in a central European beech forest. Here we used 105 beech forest sites to test whether myrmecochore presence and abundance is related to ant or gastropod abundance and whether experimentally exposed seeds are removed by gastropods. Myrmecochorous plant cover was positively related to gastropod abundance but was negatively related to ant abundance. Gastropods were responsible for most seed removal and elaiosome damage, whereas insects (and rodents) played minor roles. These gastropod effects on seeds were independent of region or forest management. We suggest that terrestrial gastropods can generally act as seed dispersers of myrmecochorous plants and even substitute myrmecochory, especially where ants are absent or uncommon.
ISSN:0003-0147
1537-5323
DOI:10.1086/663195