24.7: Dispersal Syndromes

Botany Lab Manual · LibreTexts

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    Different fruits have evolved in response to different dispersal agents. The fruits that we buy at the grocery store are tasty because they have evolved for animal ingestion. The burrs that get stuck to your socks when you walk through a field have evolved for animal attachment. How can we use characteristics of fruits to predict the dispersal agent?

    Observe the fruits available and use the table below to predict which characteristics are related to each of the following dispersal agents.

    Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Predictive Characteristics for Fruit Dispersal Agents

    Dispersal Agent

    Expected Characteristics

    Animal ingestion

    Animal attachment

    Wind

    Water

    Ballistic (explosive, projectile)

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    24.7: Dispersal Syndromes is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.