Effects of seed passage by sheep on germination of the invasive Prosopis juliflora tree
Date
07/2020Author
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Abstract
Prosopis juliflora is a small mesquite tree native to Central and South America, with invasive populations in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, including North Africa and the Arab Gulf region where it has been introduced for livestock forage. In Egypt, the geographical pattern of its spread suggests that domestic sheep are important seed vectors. We assessed the effect of seed passage through the sheep digestive system on germination. Only 7 % of seeds passed through the digestive system intact, and these seeds had greater volume and weight. Excreted seeds had higher germination rates and germinated more quickly than untreated control seeds under laboratory conditions. Our results further strengthen evidence for the importance of domesticated animals as vectors of this invasive species and suggest that sheep must be considered in management strategies to prevent further spread into protected areas.
Citation
Abbas , A M , Mahfouz , L , Ahmed , M K , Al-Kahtani , M A , Ruxton , G D & Lambert , A M 2020 , ' Effects of seed passage by sheep on germination of the invasive Prosopis juliflora tree ' , Small Ruminant Research , vol. 188 , 106098 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2020.106098
Publication
Small Ruminant Research
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0921-4488Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the author created accepted manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2020.106098.
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