Abstract

DELLAFIORE, Claudia Marisel; ROSA, María José  and  SCILINGO, Verónica. Does ingestion by birds affect Pyracantha atalantoides (Rosaceae) seed germination?. Cuadernos de Investigación UNED [online]. 2015, vol.7, n.2, pp.295-299. ISSN 1659-4266.

Birds play a fundamental role in many ecosystems because they spread a variety of fruits and seeds through endozoochory. Pyracantha are very attractive for birds, which have contributed to spread this species in natural ecosystems. However, dispersion only is effective if seeds can germinate after passage through of bird digestive tract. Our goal was to assess if birds affect the start, speed and germination rate of P. atalantoides. Germination was compared between seeds from fruit and seed from bird feces. The germination percentage was similar between fruit and feces seeds. However, the seeds pass through the digestive tract delay speed, start and rate of germination. Our results support the idea that the advantage of being consumed by birds may lie more in seed movement away from the parent plant than in any seed treatment itself.

Keywords : Pyracantha atalantoides; germination; viability; germination rate; bird.

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