The fleshy fruits of exotic Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill and Opuntia robusta (Haw.) Haw (Cactaceae family) are consumed and dispersed by many vertebrates, which likely influences their invasion success. We tested whether seed ingestion by Pied Crows (Corvus albus) and other smaller birds (African Pied Starling Lamprotornis bicolor and the Red-eyed Bulbul Pycnonotus nigricans) improve the germination and speed in O. ficus-indica and O. robusta. Controlled germination trials for two Opuntia species were set up using the seeds extracted from faecal material, depulped seeds, and intact fruits. Overall, results show that seed germination for O. robusta was significantly higher than for O. ficus-indica. There were significant differences in seed germination between treatments of two Opuntia species, with the total mean germination of seeds defecated by the Pied Crows being equivalent to that of seeds defecated by the other smaller birds but significantly greater than the other treatments (i.e., depulped seeds and intact fruit). We noted that removal of the fruit pulp from seeds significantly improved germination in both Opuntia species compared to intact fruits. The O. robusta seeds defecated by the smaller birds had significantly greatest and most accelerated germination of all other treatments followed by the seeds defecated by the Pied Crows. Seeds of O. ficus-indica defecated by the Pied Crows had significantly greater germination than the seeds ingested by smaller birds. We conclude that seed germination success in fleshy fruits including those of alien species, varies with seed treatment by different vertebrate dispersal agents, and their net effect on seeds, may have consequences on species invasion success.

外来的仙人掌印度ind（L.）Mill和仙人掌仙人掌（Haw。）Haw（仙人掌科）的肉质水果被许多脊椎动物消耗和散布，这很可能影响它们的入侵成功。我们测试的染色乌鸦（种子摄入是否乌鸦黄鳝）和其他较小的鸟（非洲皮耶八哥Lamprotornis双色和红眼鹎白头皮病）提高发芽和速度O.榕，籼稻和O.罗布斯塔。两个仙人掌的受控发芽试验使用从粪便中提取的种子，去皮的种子和完整的果实来建立物种。总体而言，结果表明，罗布斯O的种子发芽明显高于印度榕树。两种仙人掌处理之间的种子发芽有显着差异，染色乌鸦排泄的种子的平均平均发芽量等于其他较小鸟类排泄的种子的平均发芽量，但明显大于其他处理方式（即去皮的种子）和完整的水果）。我们注意到与完整的水果相比，从种子中除去果肉可显着改善两种仙人掌物种的发芽率。该O.罗布斯塔在所有其他处理方法中，较小禽类粪便排泄的种子发芽最大，且加速最快，其次是染色乌鸦粪便排泄的种子。染色乌鸦排泄的印度榕树种子的发芽比小鸟摄食的种子大得多。我们得出的结论是，肉质水果（包括外来物种）的种子发芽成功随不同脊椎动物分散剂对种子的处理而变化，并且它们对种子的净效应可能对物种入侵成功有影响。