The transition between seed and seedling phases of development is coordinated by an interaction between the closely related ABSCISIC ACID-INSENSITIVE3 (ABI3), FUSCA3 (FUS3), and LEAFY COTYLEDON2 (LEC2; AFL) and VIVIPAROUS1/ABI3-LIKE (VAL) clades of the B3 transcription factor family that respectively activate and repress the seed maturation program. In the val1 val2 double mutant, derepression ...

The seeds of many plant species present a food body that is consumed by animal dispersers. In theory, if the animals are polyphagous, the availability of alternative food resource other than the diaspore itself may influence its dispersal and survival. We used the myrmecochore Helleborus foetidus L. (Ranunculaceae), the seeds ofwhich are attached to a lipid-rich elaiosome that is attractive to ...

Digestive physiology and movement patterns of animal dispersers determine deposition patterns for endozoochorously dispersed seeds. We combined data from feeding trials, germination tests, and GPS telemetry of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) to (1) describe the spatial scale at which Asian elephants disperse seeds; (2) assess whether seasonal differences in diet composition and ranging behavi...

Postdispersal fate of seeds from Ocotea endresiana (Lauraceae), a bird-dispersed Neotropical montane tree, was studied in Costa Rica to determine the influence of seed dispersers, seed predators, and microhabitat characteristics on seedling recruitment. Particular emphasis was placed on finding naturally dispersed seeds in order to study the link between dispersal and postdispersal fate of seed...

The fate of seeds during secondary dispersal is largely unknown for most species in most ecosystems. This paper deals with sources of seed output of Prosopis flexuosa D.C. (Fabaceae, Mimosoideae) from the surface soil seed-bank. Prosopis flexuosa is the main tree species in the central Monte Desert, Argentina. In spite of occasional high fruit production, P. flexuosa seeds are not usually found...

Patterns of seed predation, germination, and seedling herbivory were investigated in Panamanian forests. We hypothesized that seed and seedling survival would vary with differences in mammal community composition. We tested this hypothesis at five sites in mainland forests adjacent to Gatun Lake, full terrestrial mammalian granivore/ herbivore communities with top predators; at five sites on Ba...

Both as consumers and dispersers of seeds, scatter-hoarding rodents often play an important role in the reproductive ecology of many plant species. However, the seeds of many plant species contain tannins, which are a diverse group of water-soluble phenolic compounds that have a high affinity for proteins. The amount of tannins in seeds is expected to affect rodent foraging preferences because ...

Given current accelerated trends of tropical land conversion, forest fragments are being incorporated into many conservation programs. For investing in fragments to be a viable conservation strategy, forest fragments must maintain their ecological integrity over the long term. Based on fieldwork in 22 forest fragments in the crater lakes region of western Uganda and in the continuous forest of ...