Dispersal is a key process in metapopulation dynamics as it conditions species' spatial responses to gradients of abiotic and biotic conditions and triggers individual and gene flows. In the numerous plants that are dispersed through seed consumption by herbivores (endozoochory), the distance and effectiveness of dispersal is determined by the combined effects of seed retention time in the vect...

How plants arrived to originally sterile oceanic islands has puzzled naturalists for centuries. Dispersal syndromes (i.e., diaspore traits that promote dispersal by long-distance dispersal vectors), are generally considered to play a determinant role in assisting island colonization. However, the association between diaspore traits and the potential vectors by which diaspores are dispersed is n...

Aim How plants can disperse in response to global change is a critical question, yet major knowledge gaps persist about long-distance dispersal (LDD) mechanisms. We studied the potential migratory waterfowl has for LDD of flowering via gut passage seeds (endozoochory), comparing spring and autumn migration. Location United Kingdom Iceland. Taxon Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus, Baillon)...

Herbivory can aff ect plant community composition and diversity by removing biomass and reducing light competition. Herbivory may particularly benefi t low growing species such as bryophytes, which are frequently limited by light competition. Gastropods are important herbivores of seed plants and cryptogams, furthermore, they can disperse propagules such as seeds and spores via endozoochory. Ho...