Skip to main content
WCS
Menu
Library
Library Catalog
eJournals & eBooks
WCS Research
Archives
Research Use
Finding Aids
Digital Collections
WCS History
WCS Research
Research Publications
Science Data
Services for WCS Researchers
Archives Shop
Bronx Zoo
Department of Tropical Research
Browse By Product
About Us
FAQs
Intern or Volunteer
Staff
Donate
Search WCS.org
Search
search
Popular Search Terms
WCS History
Library and Archives
Library and Archives Menu
Library
Archives
WCS Research
Archives Shop
About Us
Donate
en
fr
Title
Seed dispersal by the Florida box turtle (Terrapene carolina bauri) in pine rockland forests of the lower Florida Keys, United States
Author(s)
Liu H., Platt S.G., Borg C.K.
Published
2004
Publisher
Oecologia
Published Version DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1445-7
Abstract
Seed dispersal by animals is one of the most important plant-animal mutualisms, but saurochory, the dispersal of seeds by reptiles, has received little attention. We investigated the role of the Florida box turtle (Terrapene carolina bauri) as a seed dispersal agent in pine rockland forests of the lower Florida Keys and examined the effect of turtle digestion on seed germination. We obtained seeds of 11 species with fleshy fruits and 2 species with non-fleshy fruits (a grass and legume) from the feces of 145 box turtles collected on Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge from 1999 to 2000. We planted the seeds of nine species and germination percentage (percentage of seeds that germinated during the experiment) varied from 10% to 80%. Comparative germination experiments were conducted with Thrinax morrissii, Serenoa repens, and Byrsonima lucida. We compared the germination percentage and germination rate (number of days from planting to seedling emergence) of seeds from three treatments (seeds recovered from feces, control seeds with pulp, and control seeds without pulp) and continued these experiments for up to 2 years. Passage through the box turtle digestive tract greatly enhanced the germination percentage and germination rate of S. repens, but decreased the germination percentage of B. lucida and T. morrissii, and decreased germination rate for T. morrissii. Subsequent destructive seed viability tests revealed that many ungerminated T. morrissii seeds remained viable, suggesting long-term seed dormancy may occur, even after passage through the turtle digestive system. In addition, the proportion of ungerminated seeds which remained viable was greater for seeds recovered from turtle feces than from control seeds with pulp. Furthermore, removal of fleshy pulp either manually or by the turtle digestive system may allow T. morrissii to escape insect predation.
Keywords
digestion; forest ecosystem; germination; seed dispersal; turtle; zoochory; animal; Arecaceae; article; chemistry; digestive function; feces; germination; growth, development and aging; physiology; plant seed; turtle; Animals; Arecaceae; Digestive Physiology; Feces; Germination; Seeds; Turtles; Florida; Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge; North America; United States; Animalia; Arecaceae; Byrsonima; Byrsonima lucida; Cervidae; Insecta; Odocoileus virginianus clavium; Reptilia; Serenoa repens; Spermatophyta; Terrapene; Terrapene carolina bauri; Testudines; Thrinax
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the
WCS Library
to request.
Back
PUB11162