ArticlePloS one2021
The effect of lizards on the dispersal and germination of Capparis spinosa (Capparaceae).
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- How Foraging Mode Sculpts Sensory Systems: Morphological Evidence From DiceCT and Histology in Sympatric Lizards.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Dietary modulation shapes gut microbiota and digestive physiology associated with specialized frugivory inFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- A Comparison of Digestive Strategies forEcology and evolution · 2024Article
- A review of plant phenolics and endozoochory.Ecology and evolution · 2024Review
- Seasonal dietary shifts alter the gut microbiota of a frugivorous lizardEcology and evolution · 2023Article
- Comparison of Pericarp Functional Traits inPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Seed dispersal is a key component of the interactions between plants and animals. There is little research on the effects of lizard seed dispersal, which is more common on islands than elsewhere. In this study, the effects of the passage of Capparis spinosa seeds through Teratoscincus roborowskii lizard digestive tracts on the seed coats, water uptake rates and germination rates were investigated. In addition, the spatial patterns of fecal deposition by lizards in various microhabitats were assessed. Our results showed that the mean retention time (MRT) of mealworms was significantly longer than that of C. spinosa seeds in both adult and juvenile lizards. The defecation rate of C. spinosa tended to be lower than that of mealworms, which might be beneficial for seed dispersal. It was determined that the longer MRT of C. spinosa seeds enhanced the permeability of the seed coats, which promoted fast water uptake, broke seed dormancy and increased the seed germination rate. Furthermore, the seeds that passed through the digestive tracts of lizards were deposited in favorable germination microhabitats. By enhancing seed germination and depositing intact and viable seeds in safe potential recruitment sites, the lizard T. roborowskii acts, at least qualitatively, as an effective disperser of C. spinosa.
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