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Zoochorous dispersal of vascular plants in the context of rewilding - study in the Milovice grazing reserve
Mádrová, Terezie ; Lepková, Barbora (advisor) ; Janíková, Eva (referee)
Seed dispersal is one of the most important mechanisms of plant population dynamics. One type of such dispersal is zoochory, i.e. the dispersal of seeds by animals, which is divided into two types - epizoochory (dispersal of seeds on the animal's body) and endozoochory (dispersal of seeds in the animal's digestive tract). For endozoochory in particular, the essential dispersers are large herbivores, which are one of the important elements defining the character and structure of vegetation and many species of which have disappeared from the European landscape as a result of human activity. Conservation management that uses the reintroduction of animal species to care for sites, is called rewilding. The non-profit organization Česká krajina deals with the reintroduction of large herbivores in our environment and established a reserve with horses (Equus ferus), European bison (Bison bonasus) and aurochs (Bos primigenus) in the former military area Milovice. My aim was to determine how these animals contribute to a local vegetation dynamics through zoochoric seed dispersal. I studied epizoochory using a germination experiment with the soil samples from under the so-called rubbing trees (by Heineken et al. 2006) from the spring of 2021. A total of 27 seedlings germinated from 120 soil samples, 85 % of...
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Methods for studying of free-living herbivores zoochory
Lepková, Barbora ; Vojta, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Pokorná, Adéla (referee)
Epizoochory as well as endozoochory are well known dispersal mechanisms. This topic is being studied more and more often lately but our knowledge is still incomplete. The traits of plants dispersed this way are not yet well investigated and there is a gap in knowledge of mutual interaction between plant and animal species during transport. The impact of transport itself especially in endozooochory is also poorly known. We study endozoochory most often using seedling emergence method for seeds contained in dung. Feeding experiments are an interesting way of research and we use them to learn the survival rates of seeds in digestive tract. The most favourite methods for research of epizoochory are tamed animals and all types of dummies. Various laboratory experiments, for example shaking machine, are also frequently used.
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Epizoochorous dispersal of vascular plants by large mammals
Mádrová, Terezie ; Lepková, Barbora (advisor) ; Vlasta, Tomáš (referee)
Epizoochorous dispersal is together with endozoochorous dispersal one of the two basic principles of zoochory - the seed dispersion by animals. Epizoochory is defined as the spread of seeds by attachment to the surface of animals, for example in the fur of mammals, feathers of birds, even on the surface of the human clothing if we consider human as dispersal vector. There are plant species, which adapted to the epizoochory during the evolution. We can observe their morphological adaptation such as hooks, various appendages or mucilage. However, the efficiency of these adaptations, also depends on the type of the carrier, which can be either a mammal (for example ungulates or carnivores), bird or a reptile. Epizoochory also has an impact on the biodiversity - it is a mechanism that can spread the seeds across long distances and therefore provide the species variability in the environment. Today it is also an efficient way of dispersion in the fragmented landscape, where the plants are dispersed together with the animals between the fragments of vegetation. Rewilding, which is a method of returning the keystone species into the landscape and therefore restoring the interrupted natural processes, is also related to changes in the landscape. Keywords: epizoochory, seed dispersal, large herbivores,...
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Methods for studying of free-living herbivores zoochory
Lepková, Barbora ; Vojta, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Pokorná, Adéla (referee)
Epizoochory as well as endozoochory are well known dispersal mechanisms. This topic is being studied more and more often lately but our knowledge is still incomplete. The traits of plants dispersed this way are not yet well investigated and there is a gap in knowledge of mutual interaction between plant and animal species during transport. The impact of transport itself especially in endozooochory is also poorly known. We study endozoochory most often using seedling emergence method for seeds contained in dung. Feeding experiments are an interesting way of research and we use them to learn the survival rates of seeds in digestive tract. The most favourite methods for research of epizoochory are tamed animals and all types of dummies. Various laboratory experiments, for example shaking machine, are also frequently used.
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