Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA)
Doi
Abstract
Herbivores can play an important role as seed dispersal vectors, ungulates constituting potential seed dispersal
agents of Mediterranean grasses and shrubs. We evaluated the role of domestic goats as seed dispersers of five
representative Mediterranean forage shrub species [Cistus albidus L., Phillyrea angustifolia L., Calicotome villosa
(Poir.) Link., Rhamnus lycioides L. and Atriplex halimus L.]. Following seed ingestion by goats, total faeces were
collected at 24-h intervals for five days. The total number of seeds recovered varied among species, with R. lycioides
showing the minimum recovery percentage (1.3%) and C. albidus (35.8%), the maximum. Seed recovery was
significantly related to seed hardness and length. In most species, the maximum amount of seeds recovered occurred
48-72 h after ingestion. The passage through the goat gut significantly depressed seed germination in C. albidus, C.
villosa and A. halimus; inhibited it in R. lycioides and increased it in P. angustifolia. Seedling emergence was
significantly lower in intact dung pellets than in broken-down ones, and both significantly lower than in uneaten seeds
(control). The results of this study show that goats can potentially favor or inhibit seed dispersal of browsed
Mediterranean shrub species. Therefore, goat grazing could be a potential management tool for expanding target shrub
species populations or preventing shrub encroachment in undesired areas
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