Were Malagasy Uncarina fruits dispersed by the extinct elephant bird?
South African Journal of Science
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Were Malagasy Uncarina fruits dispersed by the extinct elephant bird? | |
| Creator | Midgley, J. J. Illing, N. | |
| Description | We hypothesise that the spiny fruits of the endemic Madagascargenus Uncarina (Pedaliaceae) are trample burrs that evolved to bedispersed on the feet of the extinct elephant bird (Aepyornis). Ourevidence is: i) the morphology of the fruit with its large grapplehooks is more likely to attach to a foot than to adhere to fur andii) the presentation of mature fruits on the ground rather than in thecanopy. These differences to adhesive burrs make lemurs unlikelydispersers. We argue, given the absence of other large terrestrialmammals in Madagascar, that the most likely dispersers ofUncarina fruits were the extinct large birds. If correct, our hypothesishas implications for conservation of Uncarina, the biogeographyof the elephant birds and dispersal biology. Forexample, we predict that the demography of Uncarina will beskewed towards adult plants, and that the dispersal mutualismcould possibly be rescued by domestic animals. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2010-02-02 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/sajs.v105i11/12.136 | |
| Source | South African Journal of Science; Vol 105, No 11/12 (2009); 467-499 1996-7489 0038-2353 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://journals.sajs.aosis.co.za/index.php/sajs/article/view/136/110
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