Beyond scatter-hoarding and frugivory : European corvids as overlooked vectors for a broad range of plants

摘要: It is well known that some members of the crow family (Corvidae) are important for seed dispersal either via frugivory (e.g. when feeding on berries) or by scatter hoarding nuts). Dispersal gut passage seeds within a fleshy fruit can be considered “classical endozoochory”. However, corvids rarely recognized as vectors plants lacking fruit, large nut (such with dry achene, capsule caryopsis). such “non-classical A century ago, Heintze (1917a,b, 1918) reported extensive field studies 11 species European Corvidae. His work overlooked in contemporary reviews corvid biology. We resurrect his work, which suggests views about too narrow. identified 157 plant taxa from 42 families were dispersed endozoochory, another nine only synzoochory (which includes scatter-hoarding). Most (54%) endozoochory lack and have previously been assigned to other syndromes, mainly associated wind (10%), self-dispersal (22%) epizoochory (18%). Plants particularly represented Caryophyllaceae (12 species), Poaceae (14 species) Polygonaceae (8 species). Of 27 germinated extracted pellets faeces (71% those tested), 20 fruit. Similarly, 32 he recorded seedlings having field, lacked Heintze’s quantitative data show classical dominant Magpies Pica pica Hooded Crows Corvus cornix, 97% fleshy-fruited. Corvids overlap waterfowl terrestrial non-classical 56 both dabbling ducks according lists Soons et al. (2016). Finally, Heintze´s already dispersing alien Europe North American Dwarf Serviceberry Amelanchier spicata.