Seed Herbivory by Nilgai, Feral Cattle, and Wild Boar in the Keoladeo National Park, India

Abstract

We measured the amount of viable seeds in the dung of nilgai, feral cattle, and wild boar at monthly intervals in a savanna and floodplain wetland in the Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India. Based on a seedling assay, the total number of seed species germinated in the dung of nilgai, feral cattle, and wild boar was 34, 35, and 38, respectively with a mean total of 205, 456, and 258 seeds germinating m-, respectively. Seeds of Paspalurm dzst churn were in the dung of these large herbivores during most of the year, while Acacia nilotica and Prosopus julzflora were found during the hot-dry season and Echinochloa criisgalli during the monsoon. Dinerstein (1989) found only a few seeds of a total of 13 species of small-seeded plants in the dung of herbivores in the nearby Royal Chitwan National Park (Nepal), while in our study, 37 small-seeded species germinated from the dung of nilgai, feral cattle, and wild boar. Also, three species germinated from the dung of Greylag Geese.