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Frugivory and Seed Dispersal by Missouri Turtles

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Frugivory and Seed Dispersal by Missouri Turtles May–June 2018 Newsletter of the Missouri Native Plant Society Volume 33 No.3 “… to promote the enjoyment, preservation, conservation, restoration, and study of the flora native to Missouri.” In this issue Frugivory and Seed Dispersal by Missouri Turtles ............................ 1 From the Editor .............. 3 2018 MONPS Summer Field Trip ........................ 4 Marion, Illinois Field Trip Photos ........................... 6 Chapter Events .............. 8 Seed Dispersal: How Plants Move ................... 9 The role of ants in the distribution of Missouri’s Three-toed Box Turtle. Photo by Jeff Briggler, Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) spring ephemeral flora .. 11 Chapter Updates ........... 14 Frugivory and Seed Dispersal Dues are Due ................. 17 by Missouri Turtles New Members ............... 17 by: Don Moll, Missouri State University, [email protected] Poetry Corner ................ 17 A small, tan-colored turtle with bright, red eyes, a male three-toed box turtle, feeds on fallen Mayapple fruits from a clone on the forest floor on a hot, windless day of late summer in Missouri. When he has eaten his fill, he abruptly turns and trudges away, moving deeper into the forest toward a destination only he can know. In a few hours or days, he will defecate feces containing many of the Mayapple seeds he ingested earlier, perhaps in a treefall area with good light and soil that will, eventually, allow the seeds to germinate (the possibility already enhanced by passage through his MAY 2018 | PETAL PUSHER 1 gut) and grow. It is a simple process and beneficial ecosystems over much of the planet. These to the turtle, but its importance to the plant may be interactions involve a very diverse array of plants and inestimable. Employing the cooperative turtle to eat chelonians from many taxa which include some of its fruits and disperse its seeds some distance from the smallest and largest representatives of their kind the parent plant, thereby decreasing the likelihood on earth. of seed predators finding them, and increasing the chances that some of the seeds will find suitable In Missouri, we have seventeen chelonian species, growing conditions, will help spread the distribution but only a few have been studied in relation to of the plant throughout the available habitat. Also, if their potential role in saurochory. Several of these gut passage enhances seed germination capabilities, studies have been conducted in my lab at Missouri as is the case with our box turtle–Mayapple example, State University by my former graduate students. then all the better for the plant’s survival chances, The eastern box turtle (our state representative, the and it’s a good deal for both the interacting partners aforementioned three-toed box turtle, is considered (i.e., a mutualism in eco-speak). When a reptile is a subspecies of this widespread form) is one of involved in this type of partnership, the term for it the best studied in this regard and is considered is “saurochory”, and we are gradually becoming an important seed disperser and, in some cases, aware of more of these types of co-evolutionary germination enhancer for a wide variety of eastern relationships between plant and animal species. deciduous forest floor plants. The ornate box turtle, more insectivorous than the three-toed, but still an The first example of chelonian (i.e., turtle and omnivore, is probably a seed disperser of prairie tortoise) saurochory, involving Galápagos giant and forest edge plants, also (which it may consume tortoises and endemic tomatoes, was published in in abundance under certain circumstances), but this 1961. Surprisingly, interest in pursuing this subject has not been confirmed by rigorous testing, yet. was meager, and it wasn’t until the 1980’s that the Matt Stone, Dan Sammartano and I have confirmed relationship between box turtles and plants described that fruits and seeds of various plant species are in my opening paragraph was noted, and in the early consumed and apparently pass through the digestive ‘90s before a similar role involving freshwater turtles tracts of both our box turtle species unscathed, an and aquatic and riparian vegetation was recognized. important requirement for seed dispersal. Although we have much more to discover, we now know of examples of turtle and tortoise-related Surprisingly, we know that several of our Missouri saurochory from terrestrial, freshwater, and saltwater water turtles are confirmed seed dispersers, or are suspected to be, based upon their omnivorous diets and voracious appetites. Jeff Kimmons and I have identified red-eared sliders and common snapping turtles as seed dispersers of various weedy grasses that grow on the edges of their aquatic habitats in southwestern Missouri. The seeds blow into their ponds and are eaten from the surface, perhaps as the turtles forage on other floating vegetation, such as duckweed. We have tested the positive viability of these seeds and speculate that they can be dispersed on land as the turtles travel overland to other ponds in the vicinity, to basking areas on shore, or during female travel to nesting sites. Another common Missouri water turtle, the painted turtle was studied by former MSU professor Donald Padgett and colleagues who found the species (in Massachusetts) to consume large quantities of aquatic plant seeds including yellow water lily. Although experimentation was not conducted to ascertain effects of gut passage, the ingested water Alligator Snapping Turtle. Photo by Day Ligon, Missouri State University lily seeds were 99% intact and appeared undamaged 2 ­PETAL PUSHER to the researchers who judged them highly likely to importance of chelonian frugivory and seed dispersal be viable, and ultimately to be deposited in suitable on a planetary scale. I am pleased that my students aquatic habitat allowing germination and growth. and I, and Missouri’s turtles, could make a significant, Similarly, Dawn Ford (Holliday) and I studied the diet early contribution to knowledge in this developing field. of stinkpot turtles in southwestern Missouri. We found these turtles to eat moderate amounts of the seeds of the wetland plant primrose willow (Ludwigia) and that these seeds could be dispersed in suitable growth habitat for the plant as the turtle continued to forage From the Editor through its shallow, muddy habitat. Ideas are analogous to seed dispersal. Memes Perhaps the most surprising Missouri turtle seed are created and information passed from disperser of all, since it is one of the most highly one human organism to another across the specialized carnivores of the turtle world with a globe. Not as cosmopolitan as an idea, plants sharply hooked beak and a wiggly, worm-like tongue use various methods to spread their genetic lure used to attract fish, is the huge alligator snapping material across the landscape ensuring turtle. This species prowls the larger lakes and rivers diverse future adaptations of offspring not yet of southern Missouri and eats a variety of animal prey germinated. (including other turtles) and the fruits and nuts of lowland, riparian trees such as persimmon, tupelo and We hope you enjoy the seed dispersal ideas willow oak. Jean Elbers and I conducted controlled in this edition of the Petal Pusher. As your new experiments to evaluate the effect of gut passage editor, I hope that you become a dispersal on seed germination of these species. Although mechanism to share the ideas you read about germination rates were reduced to some extent after in these pages with another person. Perhaps passage in the first two species, in the latter species, that idea will germinate and perpetuate the (willow oak) germination rate was significantly conservation of our most special and unique increased. As other studies have shown that wild plant relics that grow beneath our toes. alligator snappers consume large amounts of acorns, this finding suggests an important relationship Thank you to all of our contributing authors between riparian oaks and this turtle species. As the and chapter representatives for taking the time turtles forage and defecate through the shallows of to craft your beautiful essays and accounts. I their near shore habitats, shifting water levels may especially extend gratitude to Dana Thomas, often produce ideal nursery habitats for germinating who was instrumental in the production of this riparian plants like the oaks. A mystery exists about newsletter and who helped acclimate me to why acorns are eaten by the turtle at all, however, as the MONPS (Missouri Native Plant Society) they appear to be defecated intact and whole, just as climate. they were ingested. I speculate that the fallen acorns are covered by cyanobacteria or other nutritious Enjoy this seed dispersal issue, and keep microorganisms once they have soaked in the water spreading ideas. for awhile that provide some benefit for the turtle. Sincerely, Perhaps alternatively, as my wife Janice suggested, the rough, hard shells of the acorns act as a grinding agent similar to the grit in a bird’s gizzard to break down other foods passing through the gut. I would like to hear from you if you have other explanations for this phenomenon. Erin Skornia, Petal Pusher Editor As I have stated previously, we have only begun to scratch the surface of knowledge of the chelonian role in saurochory. As I write this article, colleagues of mine from the University of Zurich, Wilfredo Falcón and Dennis Hansen, and I are writing an extensive review of this subject to further clarify the extent and MAY 2018 | PETAL PUSHER 3 2018 MONPS SUMMER FIELD TRIP 2018 MONPS Summer Come enjoy the lush green of early summer as we explore sites near Rolla, MO on June 8-10, 2018. We’ll take in the gorgeous scenery at Clifty Creek Natural Area on Friday, then will head to the cool waters of Lane Spring on Saturday morning and switch gearsField to see the Trip rich understory beneath open post oaks at Western Star Flatwoods on Saturday afternoon.
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