What do these year-old
They were grown from seeds found in island fox scat.
FIF talks about island foxes eating native plant fruits and spreading the seeds across the islands, but now there is scientific evidence that this seed dispersal can help island plants.
Researchers Savannah Bartel and John Orrock from the Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, were investigating the role social status plays in vertebrate dispersal of seeds. They found that while passing through the digestive system of a fox or coyote didn't necessarily improve germination, being in carnivore scat provides seeds with protection. Rodents tend to avoid carnivore predators and their poop.
To do her own observations, Juliann Schamel, with Channel Island National Park, collected island fox scat with lemonadeberry seeds and attempted to grow them. And they grew!
The plants are growing in an island nursery in
collaboration with Michelle Gados and Kathryn McKeachern, who are
working to restore Santa Rosa Island's unique cloud forest plant life.
Does passing through the island fox's digestive tract provide other benefits to seeds? More investigation is needed.
Island fox's eating toyon berries and other native fruits are providing seeds with a protective compost pile to grow in.
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| toyon berries |