ABSTRACT

Numerous vertebrate species ingest palm drupes and disperse the seed by defaecation. Some insect species will predate seeds in animal scats, while others avoid them. This study examined the behaviour of date stone beetles (Coccotrypes dactyliperda) and found that the species ignored seeds coated with excreta but penetrated uncoated seeds. A case is made that the coating provides a physical barrier that prevents the kairomones from dispersing. With a lesser risk of predation by spermatophagus beetles and a greater chance of germination due to scarification in the gastrointestinal tract, vertebrate defaecated palm seeds have a much greater dispersal success that non-defaecated seeds.

摘要

许多脊椎动物摄取棕榈核果，并通过排便分散种子。有些昆虫物种会比动物粪便中的种子早，而另一些昆虫物种会避免。这项研究检查了枣核甲虫（Coccotrypes dactyliperda）的行为，发现该物种忽略了被排泄物包裹的种子，但渗透了未被包裹的种子。出现了这样的情况，即涂层提供了一种物理屏障，可防止海洛酮类药物扩散。精食甲虫捕食的风险较小，并且由于胃肠道中的划痕而发芽的可能性更大，因此与脊椎动物相比，无粪便的棕榈种子比无粪便的种子具有更大的扩散成功率。