Sunday, November 13, 2016

How has seed dispersal helped in bringing variety to the food we eat?

Seed dispersal is an adaptation which helps to ensure that plants will reproduce successfully and, in the process, also creates food variety for both animals and humans. Dispersal agents or methods (wind, water, animals, explosion, and fire) take seeds away from the parent plant, where there would be competition for sunlight, nutrients, and water, and spread them to other locations to maximize opportunities for survival. This process also provides the benefit of allowing a diversity of food sources to grow over spread-out locations.
The design of these traveling seeds marvelously matches their methods of dispersal. For example, dandelion seeds are perfectly designed for wind travel, and coconuts can float on water and be carried by tides to take root on lands far from the parent plant. Many kinds of fruits and berries contain seeds whose future germination is assisted by digestive enzymes within the bodies of animals who eat them and then disperse them in their feces. Seeds with burrs stick to the fur of animals and travel with them to new locations, and seeds collected for food and buried by animals are sometimes forgotten and sprout in new locations. Amazingly, some plants send their seeds into the world when their pods explode, while others produce cones that release their seeds in the heat of a fire.
https://www.britannica.com/list/falling-far-from-the-tree-7-brilliant-ways-seeds-and-fruits-are-dispersed

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