The Secrets of Seed Dispersal: Hidden In Turtle Poop

This post was written by QBIC sophomore Emmanuel Medrano.

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Liu, Hong, Steven G. Platt, and Christopher K. Borg. "Seed Dispersal by the Florida Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina bauri) in Pine Rockland Forests of the Lower Florida Keys, United States." Oecologia 138.4 (2004): 539-46. 

For animals, it is easy to move between different locations. If they find themselves in an environment they do not like, they can simply migrate to other areas where they may be able to find more food or mates. As a result, populations of animals can occupy a great area of land. Plants, on the other hand, are incapable of this sort of dispersion. As they say, “the apple does not fall far from the tree”. However, plants are in luck, because animals can and do eat apples and other types of fruits. While in the stomach, the fruit becomes digested but the seed remains intact. This seed can then be excreted by the animal, and voila, the seed has moved.