Afzelia africana seeds bearing elaiosomesChelidonium majus diaspores consisting of hard-coated seeds and attached elaiosomes
Myrmecochory (/mɜːrmɪˈkɒkɔːri/ (sometimes myrmechory);[1] from Ancient Greek: μύρμηξ, romanized: mýrmēks ("ant") and χορείαkhoreíā ("circular dance") is seed dispersal by ants, an ecologically significant ant–plant interaction with worldwide distribution. Most myrmecochorous plants produce seeds with elaiosomes, a term encompassing various external appendages or "food bodies" rich in lipids, amino acids, or other nutrients that are attractive to ants. The seed with its attached elaiosome is collectively known as a diaspore. Seed dispersal by ants is typically accomplished when foraging workers carry diaspores back to the ant colony, after which the elaiosome is removed or fed directly to ant larvae.[2] Once the elaiosome is consumed, the seed is usually discarded in underground middens or ejected from the nest. Although diaspores are seldom distributed far from the parent plant, myrmecochores also benefit from this predominantly mutualistic interaction through dispersal to favourable locations for germination, as well as escape from seed predation.[2]
^Daniel Simberloff; Marcel Rejmánek, eds. (2010). Encyclopedia of biological invasions. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 730. ISBN 9780520948433.
^ abBeattie, A.J. (1985). The Evolutionary Ecology of Ant-Plant Mutualisms. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge U.K.
germination, which can have important plant benefits. Seeds dispersed by ants (myrmecochory) are not only dispersed short distances but are also buried underground...
bodies, where the seeds germinate. This type of seed dispersal is termed myrmecochory from the Greek "ant" (myrmex) and "circular dance" (khoreíā). This type...
diets consist primarily of seeds, and they consequently participate in myrmecochory, an ant-plant interaction through which the ants gain nutrients and the...
Myrmecochory is seed dispersal by ants. Myrmecochory is considered an ant-plant mutualistic relationship. The common syndrome traits for myrmecochory...
ovaries and nectaries. The seeds have an elaiosome and are spread by ants (myrmecochory). The wild primrose is a staple of cottage garden plantings, and is widely...
animals through consumption of fleshy fruits. Seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory) has evolved independently more than 100 times, and is present in more...
one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants, a process called myrmecochory. The seeds have a fleshy organ called an elaiosome that attracts ants...
nest. The two main mechanisms through which ants disperse seeds are myrmecochory, or seed dispersal mediated by the elaiosome, i.e., a lipid-rich seed...
seeds as far as 2.7 meters (9 ft) away from the plant. Violets employ myrmecochory, which is the process of seed dispersal by ants. The seeds are coated...
capsule. Each has an elaiosome, which attracts ants to disperse the seeds (myrmecochory). Chelidonium majus is one of the many species described by the father...
nests to feed on their ant breads, a seed dispersal strategy known as myrmecochory. This ensures that the seeds do not burn, so new plants can grow from...
birds (ornithochory), bats (chiropterochory), rodents, primates, ants (myrmecochory), non-bird sauropsids (saurochory), mammals in general (mammaliochory)...
one white elaiosome of variable size. The seeds are dispersed through myrmecochory; that is, ants find the seeds and take them into their burrows, where...
is a representative example of a plant whose seeds are spread through myrmecochory, or ant-mediated dispersal, which is effective in increasing the plant's...
to reveal seeds with elaiosomes, structures that are eaten by ants (myrmecochory). The diploid chromosome number is 26. The plant contains aristolochic...
seeds that are adapted for dispersal by ants. Seed dispersal by ants or myrmecochory is widespread, and new estimates suggest that nearly 9% of all plant...
parent plant, and some escape being eaten if the animal forgets them. Myrmecochory is the dispersal of seeds by ants. Foraging ants disperse seeds which...
groups include dispersal by birds (ornithochory), dispersal by ants (myrmecochory), dispersal by mammals (mammaliochory), dispersal by amphibians or reptiles...
ensuring seed dispersal by ants, a form of ant-plant mutualism called myrmecochory. The ants take the egg into their nest underground and can remove the...
one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants, a process called myrmecochory. The ants take the seeds to their nest, where they eat the elaiosomes...
processes of seedling recruitment for E. characias, which depends on myrmecochory, seed dispersal by ants, to transport its seeds to appropriate sites...
elaiosome. The caruncle promotes the dispersal of the seed by ants (myrmecochory). Young plant Green variant after blooming, with developing seed capsules...
are the seeds which are dispersed by ants through a process known as myrmecochory. The flowers of summer savory are more modest in appearance and, just...
sticky seeds, brown at maturity. Natural seed dispersal is by ants (myrmecochory), which eat the sticky covering and then discard the seeds. The genus...
Gagea) have seeds with an aril structure that are dispersed by ants (myrmecochory). The proliferation of deer populations in many areas, due to human factors...
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