How could water and animals be used to disperse fruits of some plants? Briefly explain it with
example. 3 marker question
Answers
Animals can disperse seeds by excreting or burying them; other fruits have structures, such as hooks, that attach themselves to animals' fur. Humans also play a role as dispersers by moving fruit to new places and discarding the inedible portions containing the seeds. One of the significant ways that animals disperse plant seeds is by eating and pooing them out. ... 'Animals gulp down the fruits without chewing the seeds, digest the fleshy pulp and defecate the seeds. ' This ingestion process of dispersal is known as endozoochory.
Dispersal by water takes place in some aquatic plants and in some which grow near a water body. Seeds of water lily float and thus dispersed by water. The coconut seed has a tough fibrous covering which has plenty of air inside. This helps the coconut seeds in floating on water.Seeds dispersed by water are contained in light and buoyant fruit, giving them the ability to float. Coconuts are well known for their ability to float on water to reach land where they can germinate. Similarly, willow and silver birches produce lightweight fruit that can float on water.