Endozoochory is the process by which seeds are consumed by animals and dispersed away from the parent plant. In addition to being dispersed, seeds that pass through herbivore guts may also have altered germinability. Using a meta-analysis, we tested several hypotheses about how herbivore gut passage, fruit pulp, and presence of herbivore scat alter the germination percentage and time to germination (germinability) of ingested seeds.
Results/Conclusions
Gut passage typically resulted in greater proportions and in shorter time than non-ingested seeds. Non-flying mammals, but no other herbivores, were found to enhance the percentage of seeds germinating compared to uningested seeds, and non-avian reptiles were found to decrease the time to germination. Seeds from fleshy fruits, despite being evolved for vertebrate herbivore consumptions, did not germinate faster or in greater proportions than did seeds from dry-fruited plant species. Seeds cleaned of pulp germinated in greater proportions than those left in pulp. Seeds dispersed by animals native to the same areas as the plants displayed enhanced germinability compared to uningested seeds.