Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T11:51:04.342Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Partial predispersal seed predation in Lotus corniculatus L. (Fabaceae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2008

Jeff Ollerton  and
Andrew Lack
Jeff Ollerton*
Affiliation:
School of Environmental Science, Nene College, Park Campus, Northampton, NN2 7AL, UK
Andrew Lack
Affiliation:
School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Headington, Oxford, OX3 OBP, UK
*
*Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Predispersal seed predation may have implications for plant population dynamics and the evolution of plant traits, but assessing the level of seed predation for an individual plant is not always straightforward. Seeds of Lotus corniculatus (Fabaceae) are often only partially eaten by a weevil seed predator, Apion loti. Samples of these seeds were tested for viability and subsequent seedling vigour. A large proportion of these damaged seeds were viable, and the resulting seedlings almost as vigorous as those from undamaged seeds. The ubiquity of these findings, and their ecological significance, is discussed.

Keywords

FabaceaeLotus corniculatusplant reproductive ecologyplant traitspopulation dynamicsseed predationseedlings
Type
Ecology
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , June 1996 , pp. 65 - 69
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andersen, A.N. (1988) Insect seed predators may cause far greater losses than they appear to. Oikos 52, 337–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armstrong, D.P. and Westoby, M. (1993) Seedlings from large seeds tolerate defoliation better: a test using phylogenetically independent contrasts. Ecology 74, 1092–1100.Google Scholar
Augspurger, C.K. (1981) Reproductive synchrony of a tropical shrub: experimental studies of on effects of pollinators and seed predators on Hybanthus prunifolius (Violaceae). Ecology 62, 775–788.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cochrane, V.W. (1958) Physiology of fungi. London, John Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Compton, S.G.A. (1983) Studies of insects associated with Lotus corniculatus L. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Hull, UK.Google Scholar
El Atta, H.A. (1993) The effect of Caryedon serratus Olivier (Col., Bruchidae) on viability and germination of seeds of Acacia nilotica (L. Willd. ex Del.) in the Sudan. Forest Ecology and Management 57, 169–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellison, R.L. and Thompson, J.N. (1987) Variation in seed and seedlings size: the effects of seed herbivores on Lomatium grayi (Umbelliferae). Oikos 49, 269–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ernst, W.H.O., Tolsma, D.J. and Decelle, J.E. (1989) Predation of seeds of Acacia tortila by insects. Oikos 54, 294–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, T.W. and Palmbald, I.G. (1975) Effects of insect seed predators on Astragalus cibarius and Astragalus utahensis (Leguminosae). Ecology 56, 1435–1440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herrera, C.M. (1984) Selective pressures on fruit seediness: differential predation of fly larvae on the fruits of Berberis hispanica. Oikos 42, 166–170.Google Scholar
Janzen, D.H. (1971) Seed predation by animals. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 2, 465–492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janzen, D.H. (1976) Why bamboos wait so long to flower. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 7, 347–391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, D.A. and Turkington, R. (1986) Biological Flora of the British Isles: Lotus corniculatus L. Journal of Ecology 74, 1185–1212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Louda, S.M. (1982) Distribution ecology: variation in plant recruitment over a gradient in relation to insect seed predation. Ecological Monographs 52, 25–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, R.P. (1973) Tetrazolium staining for assessing seed quality. in Heydecker, W. (Ed) Seed ecology. London, Butterworths.Google Scholar
Molau, U., Eriksen, B. and Knudsen, J.T. (1989) Predispersal seed predation in Bartsia alpina. Oecologia 81, 181–185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mucunguzi, P. (1995) Effects of bruchid beetles on germination and establishment of Acacia species. African Journal of Ecology 33, 64–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ollerton, J. (1993) Ecology of flowering and fruiting in Lotus corniculatus L. Ph.D. Thesis, Oxford Brookes University, UK.Google Scholar
Ollerton, J. and Lack, A.J. (1992) Flowering phenology: an example of relaxation of natural selection? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 7, 274–276.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robertson, A.I., Giddins, R. and Smith, T.J. (1990) Seed predation by insects in tropical mangrove forests: extent and effects on seed viability and the growth of seedlings. Oecologia 83, 213–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siemens, D.H., Johnson, C.D. and Ribardo, K.J. (1992) Alternative seed defense mechanisms in congeneric plants. Ecology 73, 2152–2166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steele, M.A., Knowles, T., Bridle, K. and Simms, E.L. (1993) Tannins and partial consumption of acorns—implications for dispersal of oaks by seed predators. American Midland Naturalist 130, 229–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szentesi, Á. and Jermy, T. (1995) Predispersal seed predation in leguminous species: seed morphology and bruchid distribution. Oikos 73, 23–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waller, D.M. (1993) How does mast-fruiting get started? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 8, 122–123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed