Seeds dispersed in dung of insectivores and herbivores in semi-arid southern Africa

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorMilton S.J.
dc.contributor.authorDean W.R.J.
dc.date.accessioned2011-05-15T15:59:30Z
dc.date.available2011-05-15T15:59:30Z
dc.date.issued2001
dc.description.abstractWe investigated the incidence of endozoochory in the semi-arid South African Karoo shrubland and Kalahari savanna by dissecting and germinating seed from dung samples from a wide range of wild mammals and domestic livestock. Intact seeds occurred at a mean density of 1575 seeds kg-1 in livestock air-dried dung and 3613 seeds kg-1 in air-dried dung of indigenous animals. Seedlings emerged from dung at an average density of 153 kg-1 air-dry dung. Seeds of Aizoaceae, Mesembryanthemaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Poaceae were abundant in the dung of wild and domestic herbivores as well as such ant- and termite-eating insectivores as aardvark (Orycteropus afer) and bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis). Seeds of fleshy-fruited shrubs occurred in dung of browsing herbivores and the bat-eared fox. Five non-indigenous weeds were found in the dung samples. Although the floras of the Kalahari and Karoo are considered to be largely wind and water-dispersed, endozoochory is a primary or secondary dispersal mechanism in many plant families and for many plant life-forms. Animals dispersed seeds of many species characteristic of fertile and disturbed habitats. In Mesembryanthemaceae, a family in which seeds are primarily dispersed very short distances by raindrops, endozoochory enables occasional long-distance dispersal. © 2001 Academic Press.
dc.description.versionArticle
dc.identifier.citationJournal of Arid Environments
dc.identifier.citation47
dc.identifier.citation4
dc.identifier.issn1401963
dc.identifier.other10.1006/jare.2000.0727
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/11216
dc.subjectherbivore
dc.subjectinsectivore
dc.subjectmanure
dc.subjectseed dispersal
dc.subjectsemiarid region
dc.subjectAfrica
dc.subjectAcer pensylvanicum
dc.subjectAizoaceae
dc.subjectAmaranthaceae
dc.subjectAnimalia
dc.subjectCanidae
dc.subjectFormicidae
dc.subjectIsoptera
dc.subjectMammalia
dc.subjectOrycteropus afer
dc.subjectOtocyon megalotis
dc.subjectPoaceae
dc.subjectStruthio camelus
dc.titleSeeds dispersed in dung of insectivores and herbivores in semi-arid southern Africa
dc.typeArticle
Files
Collections
Stellenbosch University - Scopus Publications