Seed mucilage as a defense against granivory is influenced by substrate characters.

Abstract

Many seeds are consumed by granivores despite numerous adaptations to prevent detection or exploitation. The environment can influence the efficacy of these defensive traits. Understanding the mechanisms by which environmental factors modify defensive efficacy is important for understanding spatial patterns of granivory and seed recruitment. Seed mucilage is a sticky coating that binds imbibed seeds to substrates; this attachment has been demonstrated to lessen exploitation by granivores. Seed mucilage as a defense has been recognized for decades, though rarely studied. Here, we investigated whether the environment alters this seed defense by addressing two questions: (1) Does substrate particle size affect attachment strength? (2) Does a change in particle size lead to changes in granivore-related mortality? In the field experiment, ants removed more seeds from finer substrates than their coarser counterparts. Across that same grit range, seeds took less force to dislodge when mucilage-bound to fine sandpaper; however, an investigation across a wider range of grits demonstrated nonlinearities occurred for many species, probably due to structural and chemical mucilage properties. Small differences in substrate grit lead to differential mortality in mucilaginous seeds due to alterations in attachment strength, suggesting that the defensive efficacy of this trait differs across the landscape. This work paves the way for a more integrative look at mucilaginous seeds. Seed mucilage is a widespread trait that is easily studied and has important demographic implications. It represents an ideal system to examine dispersal, germination, and granivory to gain a more holistic view of seed ecology.