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Myrmecochorous dispersal distances: a world survey
Author(s) -
Gómez C.,
Espadaler X.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of biogeography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1365-2699
pISSN - 0305-0270
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2699.1998.2530573.x
Subject(s) - sclerophyll , biological dispersal , southern hemisphere , ecology , vegetation (pathology) , range (aeronautics) , foraging , seed dispersal , biology , northern hemisphere , geography , physical geography , geology , atmospheric sciences , demography , pathology , sociology , mediterranean climate , composite material , population , materials science , medicine
. Myrmecochorous dispersal distances are reviewed; the seed dispersal curve generated by ants shows a characteristic peak at short distances and a long tail, a shape suited to small densities of safe sites. Mean global distance is of 0.96 m ( n = 2524) with a range of 0.01–77 m. Data have been broken down by geography (Northern hemisphere v . Southern hemisphere), taxonomy (ant subfamilies) and ecology (vegetation: sclerophyllous v . mesophyllous). Although a statistical difference exists between dispersal curves from the Northern hemisphere and the Southern hemisphere, this may be an artefact of lack of data from mesophyllous myrmecochores from this hemisphere. The four ant subfamilies do show also numerical differences but could not be subjected to statistical analysis. A difference between the shape of dispersal curve for sclerophyllous myrmecochores and mesophyllous myrmecochores has also been detected. We hypothesize that this difference is related to the myrmecological communities from both types of vegetation: dispersing ants from sclerophyllous vegetation would have smaller nest densities and/or bigger foraging areas than dispersing ants from mesic environments.