The effect of gut passage by two species of avianfrugivore on seeds of pokeweed, Phytolaccaamericana

Although avian frugivores are known to be important dispersers of seeds of pokeweed, Phytolaccaamericana L., there are no studies that rigorously examine the effect of gut passage through avian frugivores onP. americana seeds. I examined how passage through avian frugivores affected the proportion of P. americana seedsgerminating, the rate of germination (average number of days required for all seeds to germinate), and the total numberof viable seeds. Field-collected fruits were either cleaned of pulp (control seeds), fed to northern Mockingbirds (Mimuspolyglottos), or fed to Brown Thrashers (Toxostoma rufum).

John L. Orrock, Can. J. Bot. 83: 427-431 (2005)