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Convergence of myrmecochory in mediterranean Australia and South Africa

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Ant-plant interactions in Australia

Part of the book series: Geobotany ((GEOB,volume 4))

Abstract

Interactions between ants and plants were compared on sandy soils under a mediterranean climate in Australia and southern Africa. Both the Barrens in Western Australia and the Caledon coast in the southwestern Cape, South Africa, support fire-prone sclerophyllous shrublands. The plant community on siliceous, leached, acidic soils in South Africa was found to have a high incidence of dispersal of diaspores by ants, despite differences in the fauna and flora between the continents. This indicates evolutionary convergence in response to similar physical environments. Comparison of different substrates under the same climates suggests that the poverty of potassium and other soil nutrients favours myrmecochory over other strategies, such as dispersal of seeds by birds eating large fleshy fruits, which require relatively fertile soils and protection from fire. Further studies of the relationship between soil nutrient status and patterns of plant dispersal are needed.

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Authors
  1. A. V. Milewski
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  2. W. J. Bond
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, P.O. Box 4, Canberra, A.C.T., 2601, Australia

    Ralf C. Buckley

  2. AMDEL, P.O. Box 114, Eastwood, SA, 5063, Australia

    Ralf C. Buckley

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© 1982 Dr W. Junk Publishers, The Hague

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Milewski, A.V., Bond, W.J. (1982). Convergence of myrmecochory in mediterranean Australia and South Africa. In: Buckley, R.C. (eds) Ant-plant interactions in Australia. Geobotany, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7994-9_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7994-9_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-009-7996-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-7994-9

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