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Does passage time through the lizard Podarcis lilfordi's guts affect germination performance in the plant Withania frutescens?
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| Abstract |
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| I tasted predictions of the hypothesis that a longer seed passage time through the gut of the lizard Podarcis lilfordi enhances germination performance in the plant Withania frutescens. I compared germination success and germination time between seeds that were ingested by lizards and control seeds that were not. I also explored relationships between natural variation in seed passage time and germination performance. Germination success did not differ between ingested (63 %) and non-ingested seeds (56 %); there was no significant relationship between germinability and retention time. Germination time did not differ between ingested and non-ingested seeds, and was unrelated to retention time. Hence, I found no support for the hypothesis that prolonged retention times should improve germination performance. In addition, this is a pilot study stressing the importance of reptiles as seed dispersers, at least in certain habitats. (C) 2000 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. | | |
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English
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Acta oecologica. - Montreuil | |
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Montreuil : 2000
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1146-609X
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21:2(2000), p. 119-124
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| ISI |
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000087811100004
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