Mechanisms of long-distance seed dispersal
- Growing recognition of the importance of long-distance dispersal (LDD) of plant seeds for various ecological and evolutionary processes has led to an upsurge of research into the mechanisms underlying LDD. We summarize these findings by formulating six generalizations stating that LDD is generally more common in open terrestrial landscapes, and is typically driven by large and migratory animals, extreme meteorological phenomena, ocean currents and human transportation, each transporting a variety of seed morphologies. LDD is often associated with unusual behavior of the standard vector inferred from plant dispersal morphology, or mediated by nonstandard vectors. To advance our understanding of LDD, we advocate a vector-based research approach that identifies the significant LDD vectors and quantifies how environmental conditions modify their actions.
Author details: | Ran Nathan, Frank Martin SchurrGND, Orr Spiegel, Ofer Steinitz, Ana Trakhtenbrot, Asaf Tsoar |
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URL: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01695347 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2008.08.003 |
ISSN: | 0169-5347 |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Year of first publication: | 2008 |
Publication year: | 2008 |
Release date: | 2017/03/25 |
Source: | Trends in ecology and evolution. - ISSN 0169-5347. - 23 (2008), 11, S. 638 - 647 |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Biochemie und Biologie |
Peer review: | Referiert |