For endozoochorous species, the quality component of seed dispersal effectiveness depends in part on the treatment seeds receive in the animal's gut. Covering a variety of taxa, diet, digestion system and body size of Prosopis flexuosa seed dispersers, we analysed differences among species in (1) mean retention time of ingested seeds, (2) recovery of viable seeds, (3) seed germination in comparison with seeds collected from trees and (4) germination of seeds after two different periods of retention in the gut. Feeding experiments were conducted with captive individuals of Dolichotis patagonum, Lycalopex gymnocercus, Rhea americana, Chelonoidis chilensis and Lama guanicoe. On the first day, we provided them with fruits containing controlled amounts of seed, and on the subsequent days, we collected faeces in order to recover seeds. We performed germination and viability tests on seeds coming from faeces and collected from trees. The results showed differences among species in the mean retention time of seeds. Chelonoidis chilensis had the longest mean retention time, but its effect on seed recovery and germination was similar to that of the other species, except for L. guanicoe, which showed the lowest seed recovery. When scarification and promotion of seed germination were considered, herbivorous mammals and tortoises (L. guanicoe, D. patagonum and C. chilensis) were the ones increasing germinability, whereas R. americana and L. gymnocercus did not significantly increase final seed germination percentage, which was similar to that for seeds collected from trees. P. flexuosa seeds receive a variety of treatments from endozoochorous dispersers, which might result in an overall fitness benefit for a plant living in unpredictable environments.

中文翻译：

---

填补弯毛蜂种子传播效果模型的空白：本地动物消化道中种子处理的质量

对于内生动物物种，种子传播效果的质量成分部分取决于种子在动物肠道中接受的处理。涵盖多种类群、饮食、消化系统和体型弯毛蜂种子分散器，我们分析了物种之间的差异：（1）摄入种子的平均保留时间，（2）有活力的种子的恢复，（3）种子发芽与从树上收集的种子相比，（4）两个不同时期后的种子发芽保留在肠道中。饲养实验是用圈养的个体进行的鲽鱼,体毛茛,美洲鼠尾草,智利螯虾和喇嘛 guanicoe. 第一天，我们为他们提供含有控制量种子的水果，随后几天，我们收集粪便以回收种子。我们对来自粪便和从树上收集的种子进行了发芽和活力测试。结果表明，种子的平均保留时间在物种之间存在差异。智利螯虾平均保留时间最长，但其对种子恢复和发芽的影响与其他物种相似，除了L. guanicoe，这表明种子回收率最低。当考虑划痕和促进种子发芽时，食草哺乳动物和陆龟（L. guanicoe,D. patagonum和C. chilensis) 是增加发芽率的那些，而美洲红豆杉和体毛球虫没有显着增加最终种子发芽率，这与从树上收集的种子相似。P. flexuosa种子接受内生动物分散器的各种处理，这可能会为生活在不可预测环境中的植物带来整体健康益处。