Large African herbivores, bruchid beetles and their interactions with Acacia seeds

Autor:	Maxine F. Miller
Rok vydání:	1994
Předmět:	Herbivore integumentary system biology food and beverages Acacia biology.organism_classification medicine.disease_cause Point of delivery Agronomy Acacia hebeclada Seedling Germination parasitic diseases Botany Infestation medicine Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Acacia caffra
Zdroj:	Oecologia. 97:265-270
ISSN:	1432-1939 0029-8549
Popis:	This study investigated the interactions of large African herbivores and bruchid seed beetles with Acacia seeds. The germination of bruchid-infested and uninfested seeds was compaed. The effects of pod consumption by large herbivores on bruchid infestation and seed germination was also assessed. Bruchid-infested seeds did germinate, and the germination of bruchid-infested and uninfested A. tortilis, A. nilotica and A. hebeclade seeds did not differ. Pod ingestion by large herbivores lowered the bruchid infestation of consumed and defaecated seeds compared to uningested seeds. Uninfested, ingested and voided A. tortilis seeds germinated seeds. Furthermore, infested A. tortilis seeds egested by giraffe, kudu and ostrich germinated better than infested, uningested seeds. Pod ingestion by large herbivores may reduce bruchid infestation, increase Acacia seed germination and therefore increase potential Acacia seedling recruitment.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_dedup___::07be99990f90e86d0d20c219b070f949 https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00323159 Zobrazit plný text záznamu Full text from SpringerLink