<div dir="ltr"><div>Though the subject of this article does not pertain to US native species, I thought it was a good reminder that many plant species rely on animals for dispersal, not just to move to new locations but because the seeds need to pass through the digestive tract in order to germinate. </div><div><br></div><div>There are recent articles on the spread of invasive plants via animals, but I'm not sure what recent information is available on beneficial/requisite dispersal for natives. If you are aware of any, please feel free to post them in response to this message (but please just delete the email trail in your response).</div><div><br></div><div><h1 id="postTitle2" class="" style="margin:0px 0px 5px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:18px;vertical-align:baseline;font-family:Brunel-for-Titles,georgia,times,serif;font-stretch:normal;line-height:26px;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">If Apes Go Extinct, So Could Entire Forests</h1><p class="" style="margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 15px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:12px;vertical-align:baseline;font-family:georgia,times,serif;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><span class="" style="margin:0px;padding:0px 5px 0px 0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:nowrap;font-family:arial,sans-serif;background:transparent">By <a id="author41" style="color:rgb(25,67,124);margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent">John R. Platt</a> | </span><span class="" style="margin:0px;padding:0px 5px 0px 0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:nowrap;font-family:arial,sans-serif;background:transparent">March 11, 2015</span></p></div><div><p style="margin:0px 0px 25px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:16px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:24px;font-family:Georgia,ApresTT,Prelude,Verdana,san-serif;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">Bonobo poop matters. Well, maybe not the poop itself, but what’s in it.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 25px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:16px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:24px;font-family:Georgia,ApresTT,Prelude,Verdana,san-serif;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">You see, bonobos eat a lot of fruit, and fruit contains seeds. Those seeds travel through a bonobo’s digestive system while the bonobo itself travels through the landscape. A few hours later, the seeds end up being deposited far from where the fruits were plucked. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where new trees come from.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 25px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:16px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:24px;font-family:Georgia,ApresTT,Prelude,Verdana,san-serif;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">But what if there were no apes? A new study published February 27 in the journal<a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=6&fid=9579414&jid=ORX&volumeId=-1&issueId=-1&aid=9579413&bodyId=&membershipNumber=&societyETOCSession=&fulltextType=&fileId=" style="text-decoration:none;color:rgb(25,67,124);margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent"><em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent">Oryx</em></a> found that many tree and plant species in the Democratic Republic of the Congo rely almost exclusively on bonobos for seed dispersal. In the LuiKotale forest, where the study was conducted, 18 plant species were completely unable to reproduce if their seeds did not first travel through a bonobo’s guts. According to the paper if the bonobos disappeared, the plants would also likely go extinct.</p></div>Full story: <a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2015/03/11/if-apes-go-extinct-trees/">http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2015/03/11/if-apes-go-extinct-trees/</a><div><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">-Patricia </span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br></span></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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