NDLI: Effects of seed passage through slugs on germination

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Calvi Cancela, Maria Rubido Bará, Margarita
Copyright Year	2012
Abstract	Seed dispersal by invertebrates is mostly external (e.g. by ants). However, internal dispersal (endozoochory) seems to be uncommon due to size limitations. Slugs are generalist herbivores and increasing evidence suggests that they often disperse seeds. Nevertheless, we know very little on the consequences for plant recruitment. Here, we assess the effect of slug seed passage on germination and early seedling establishment of a set of nine common plant species with limited dispersal capabilities (unassisted or ant dispersed). Germination trials were performed under natural conditions (NW of Spain). Size was a clear limitation for seed ingestion: smaller seeds were eaten more readily, whereas only the largest slugs could swallow the largest seeds. All ingested seeds were voided undamaged. Only not-ingested seeds (the biggest) were damaged, with chewing marks in the surface and 0.8% (N = 250) were broken. In some cases, slugs ate the elaiosomes but discarded the seeds. Slug seed passage had an overall positive effect on total germination and sped it up in two species. Elaiosome removal by slugs had also a positive effect in Ulex europaeus seeds (+160%). However, slugs had no effect on early seedling survival and growth of the study species. Our results show that slugs are effective dispersers in terms of seed treatment in the digestive track. However, according to their reduced movement range (in the range of tens of metres; as shown by other studies), they can only provide rather limited dispersal as compared to vertebrate dispersers. This can be nonetheless significant for species with limited dispersal, e.g. unassisted and ant-dispersed plants, for which they act as non-standard dispersers.
Starting Page	663
Ending Page	673
Page Count	11
File Format	PDF
ISSN	13850237
Journal	Plant Ecology
Volume Number	213
Issue Number	4
e-ISSN	15735052
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2012-02-16
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Invertebrate seed dispersal Germination percentage Germination rate Germination speed Seed dispersal quality Plant Sciences
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Ecology Plant Science

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