Notes on Seeds in Elephant Dung from Bia National Park, Ghana

Abstract

Seeds were collected from elephant dung in Bia National Park, Western Region, Ghana during a 3-mo period prior to the major wet season, and were brought to the laboratory for counting, identification, and germination trials. We report here the quantities of seeds, characteristics of fruits and seeds of the species encountered, and the results of germination trials comparing fresh seeds (from ripe fruits) and ingested seeds (from dung). Altogether 449 seeds representing 11 species were enumerated, the most important of these being Panda oleosa, Balanites wilsoniana, Strychnos aculeata, and Parinari excelsa. For three of the species tested, the germination percentage was significantly higher for ingested seeds than for fresh seeds; for two species, there was no difference. ELEPHANTS FEED UPON FRUITS AND DISPERSE SEEDS (Ridley 1930, Aubreville 1958, Buss 1961, Depierre 1967, Guillaumet 1967, Wing & Buss 1970, Laws et al. 1975, Alexandre 1978, Brahmachary 1980, Short 1981, Martin 1982, Gautier-Hion et al. 1985). We report here our observations on species composition and quantities of seeds in elephant dung from one locality in Ghana and the results of germination trials with the most abundant seed species. Although elephant diets in the area have been studied (Short 1981, Martin 1982), this paper offers the first quantitative information on germination of seeds dispersed by elephants in Ghana.