Dispersal (disperse)
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Title
Dispersal (disperse)
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Definition
The transport of fruits, parts of fruits, or seeds away from a parent plant by agents such as water, wind, bats, other mammals, ants, scarab beetles, etc. The act of dispersing a diasporte.
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Notes
A diaspore is a unit of disperal which contains seeds, the object of disperal. Seeds often grown better away from a parent plant because predators are attracted to fruits and seed directly under a plant and, because of their high density, are subject to damage and because the nearer a seedling falls to a parent plant the greater the competition from other seedlings of the same plant.
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Related Terms
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