November 14, 2017
Three species of
non-photosynthetic plants rely mainly on camel crickets to disperse their
seeds, according to new research from Project Associate Professor Suetsugu
Kenji (Kobe University Graduate School of Science). These findings were
published on November 9 in the online edition of New Phytologist.
Most non-photosynthetic plants have very small seeds that
can be dispersed by the wind like dust particles. However, some achlorophyllous
plants grow in the dark understory of forests, and have abandoned the
dependence on the wind for seed dispersal.
In this study, Professor Suetsugu investigated the seed dispersal method for
three such plants: Yoania amagiensis, Monotropastrum humile and Phacellanthus
tubiflorus. He identified the camel cricket as their main seed disperser, the
first evidence of camel crickets being used for seed dispersal in the flowering
plants.
The most famous example of insect
carriers is ants, but the ants do not eat the seeds: they carry them to their
nests in their mandibles. Insects who carry seeds by eating them are very rare.
One example is the New Zealand weta, but this is a special case: normally this
role would be taken by mammals, but in New Zealand the only native mammals are
bats.
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