Norconk M A, Grafton B W, Conklin-Brittain N L
Department of Anthropology, Kent State University, Ohio 44242, USA.
Am J Primatol. 1998;45(1):103-26. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1098-2345(1998)45:1<103::AID-AJP8>3.0.CO;2-#.
From a plant's perspective, the difference between a seed predator and a seed disperser should be straightforward: attract animals that will disperse seeds and defend seeds from potential predators. Unlike pulp-eating frugivores, seed predators regularly encounter diverse plant protective mechanisms. The purpose of this paper is to examine feeding constraints, morphological adaptations, and the mechanical process of seed predation. While there is evidence that some seed predators cause severe losses to seed crops, there is also evidence that seed predators enhance seed dispersal and germination. We also examine four methods by which neotropical seed predators may contribute to dispersal. 1) Seed predators examined here ingested fruit when seeds were full-sized, but not yet mature (i.e., seeds of mature fruit may be avoided by seed predators and available for dispersal by other frugivores). 2) Sympatric seed predators may ingest seeds from different plants thus reducing overall predator load on any individual plant. 3) Seed predators that manipulate seeds (e.g., remove pericarp and seed coat) may enhance germination if the prepared seeds are dropped, discarded, or buried and not ingested. 4) Small seeds may miss mastication and swallowed intact with a food bolus. The last mechanism is the most likely to contribute to seed dispersal by the widest array of vertebrate seed predators, but primate seed predators may facilitate seed dispersal using all four mechanisms. Therefore, the traditional dichotomy of seed predator vs. seed disperser oversimplifies the interactions between seed predators and plants.
从植物的角度来看，种子捕食者和种子传播者之间的区别应该很简单：吸引能传播种子的动物，并保护种子免受潜在捕食者的侵害。与以果肉为食的食果动物不同，种子捕食者经常会遇到各种植物保护机制。本文的目的是研究摄食限制、形态适应以及种子捕食的机械过程。虽然有证据表明一些种子捕食者会给种子作物造成严重损失，但也有证据表明种子捕食者能促进种子传播和萌发。我们还研究了新热带地区的种子捕食者可能有助于传播的四种方式。1）此处研究的种子捕食者在种子发育完全但尚未成熟时摄食果实（即成熟果实的种子可能会被种子捕食者避开，可供其他食果动物传播）。2）同域分布的种子捕食者可能会摄取不同植物的种子，从而降低任何单个植物上的总体捕食压力。3）如果处理过的种子被丢弃、抛弃或掩埋而未被摄取，那么能处理种子（如去除果皮和种皮）的种子捕食者可能会促进种子萌发。4）小种子可能未被咀嚼，而是随食物团完整地被吞下。最后一种机制最有可能促成各种各样的脊椎动物种子捕食者传播种子，但灵长类种子捕食者可能利用所有这四种机制来促进种子传播。因此，种子捕食者与种子传播者这种传统的二分法过于简化了种子捕食者与植物之间的相互作用。
