Plant dispersal syndromes are unreliable, especially for predicting zoochory and long‐distance dispersal

• Published in: Oikos Vol. 2022; no. 2
• Main Authors: Green, Andy J., Baltzinger, Christophe, Lovas‐Kiss, Ádám
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.02.2022; Nordic Ecological Society
• Subjects: Angiosperms; Aquatic birds; Climate change; Colonization; Diaspore; Disorders; Dispersal; Dispersion; Distance; endozoochory; Environmental Sciences; epizoochory; Frugivores; Frugivory; Herbivores; Life Sciences; Migrations; Plant species; plant traits; seed dispersal; Symptoms; ungulates; Vectors; Vertebrates; waterbirds; Waterfowl; endozoochory; epizoochory; seed dispersal; waterbirds; ungulates; plant traits

Plant dispersal syndromes are allocated based on diaspore morphology and used to predict the dominant mechanisms of dispersal. Many authors assume that only angiosperms with endozoochory, epizoochory or anemochory syndromes have a long‐distance dispersal (LDD) mechanism. Too much faith is often plac...