Salem veng, Lamka, pin – 795128

Biology Project
on
Study of Disperssal of seed by various
agencies.
2023-2024
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Miss Khollemting Vaiphei of Class XII,

Sec- C, Roll No -10(class) and______________(COHSEM)
has successfully completed Biology Project on the topic –
‘study of dispersal of seed by various agency’.

This project is the result of her endeavors and research. It is

finalized under our guidance and supervision in the academic
year 2023-2024.

Teacher’s Signature
 Contents

1. Acknowledgement

2. Introduction

3. Aim

4. Required material

5. Experimental procedure

6. Observation

7. Conclusion

8. Reference
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my gratitude

and appreciation to all who gave
me the possibility to complete this
project.
Also, I take this opportunity to
express my deep sense of gratitude
to my biology teacher, Ma’am
Maclyn, Ma’am Ruth and respected
Principal Fr. Stephen Baite under
whose valuable guidance, this
project work has been carried out.
I would like to extend my special
thanks to my parents & friends,
without their support and
coordination we would not have
been able to complete this project.
 AIM:

Study of dispersal of seed by various agencies.

INTRODUCTION:

Seed contains an embryo embedded in an endosperm (nutritious tissue). It

contains an immature plant and everything it needs to sprout in a new
location, become established, and eventually grow into an adult plant.
Without seeds, forests would not be able to regenerate. Forests are important
because they provide many ecological services such as clean air and clean
water, and they provide us with a lot of valuable products such as wood and
food.
Seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the
parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of
dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors,
such as the wind, and living (biotic) vectors such as birds. Seeds can be
dispersed away from the parent plant individually or collectively, as well as
dispersed in both space and time. The patterns of seed dispersal are
determined in large part by the dispersal mechanism and this has important
implications for the demographic and genetic structure of plant populations,
as well as migration patterns and species interactions. There are five main
modes of seed dispersal: gravity, wind, animals, water, and by Explosion
(ballistic). Some plants are serotinous and only disperse their seeds in
response to an environmental stimulus. These modes are typically inferred
based on adaptations, such as wings or fleshy fruit.

REQUIRED MATERIAL:
 Different types of seeds and fruits, knife, forceps, Petridishes, hand lense,
etc

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE:
1. Collect various types of seeds from the neighborhood and study them for
their mode of dispersal.
2. Cut the fleshy fruits and observe their seeds. Study their mode of
dispersal.

OBSERVATION:
1. Dispersal by Gravity:- Barochory or the plant use of gravity for
dispersal is a simple means of achieving seed dispersal. The effect of gravity
on heavier fruits causes them to fall from the plant when ripe. Fruits
exhibiting this type of dispersal include apples, coconuts and passion fruit
and those with harder shells (which often roll away from the plant to gain
more distance). Gravity dispersal also allows for later transmission by
water or animal.

Image: Pashion fruit image: Coconut

2. Dispersal by wind:- This type of dispersal is known as Anemochory.

Agent of dispersal is wind. Seeds must be light and small with high
surface/volume ratio. Some plants have evolved seeds that use wind
power to transport them from one place to another. Wind dispersed seeds
must be smaller and lighter in weight. They might have special structures
that catch the air, such as wings or fluff. These structures increase the
seed’s hang time in the air and allow them to travel extremely far
distances. Winged seeds, such as those produced by maples, may travel
 180 meters or so while some seeds, like those of a dandelion, can travel
over 500 miles.
a. Parachute mechanism:
mechanism:- Certain seeds are provided with
appendages which act like parachutes in helping them to float in
air. Eg:-Nerium
Nerium ole
oleander
b. Hairy out growth:
growth:- Tuft of hair developed as a crown on the seeds
of Calotropis
c. Wings or gliders:
gliders:- Gliders include seeds with 2 lateral wings that
resemble the wings of an airplane. They become airborne when
released from their fruit and sail through the air like a true
glider. Yellow Bells (Tecoma stans) seeds have a thin, transparent,
papery wing at each end and flutter through the air.

Nerium oleander Calotropis Yellow Bells (Tecoma stans)

3. Dispersal by waterwater:- This type is known as hydrochory. Agent of

dispersal is water. Plants which grow beside or in water often use water to
disperse their seeds. These seeds are made waterproof and can have fluff
or other structures to increase their buoyancy. Seeds are resistance to
sinking they use the surface tension and air cavity which
ch reduces specific
gravity allowing them to float. Seeds are placed in a deep layers so the salt
concentration does not affect the seeds germination or avoid any situation
of exosmosis. Eg:- fibrous mesocarp in coconut light allow them to be tran-
sported extremely long distances in saltwater and air filled seeds in lilly etc.

Coconut Lily
4. Dispersal by animals and birds birds:- This type of dispersal is known
as zoochory. Agents of dispersal are birdsrds and animals. The seeds are
usually
ually light and are sticky orr provided with hooks. Some plants produce
fleshy edible fruits containing seeds in them that are dispersed through the
wastes excreted by the animals. Human travellers also carry some seeds
with them specially when they come across with weed seeds having
the hooks and spine structu
structurere in them. Xanthium riparium (Compositae):-
(
Dry fruits with barbs at their surfaces that stick to the fur of mammals
hence facilitating the seed dispersal. Squirrels bury seeds and forget where
they buried them, thus planting a tree far away from the parent plant.
Animal and birds deposits the seeds, along with a fertilizer supply, miles
from the parent plant where the fruit was eaten. Myrmecochory:
Myrmecochory:- Seed
dispersal by Ants. These plants produce seeds with elaiosomes (“food
bodies” rich in lipids, amino acid, or other nutrients) that are attractive to
ants and thereby get dispersed.
5. Autochory:- Some seeds literally use an explosion to disperse their
seeds. The seeds of these dispersers reside in pods, and as the pod dries
out it will eventually burst expelling seeds in every direction. Some seeds
have evolved a popping mechanism for short distance dispersal. As the
seed matures, the pod or husk dries out and may starstartt to shrink around the
seeds. After it shrinks so far, it may “pop” and scatter the seeds around.
Ex :- touch me not plant

CONCLUSION

Study of mechanism and method of seed dispersal is needed to observe plant

vector relationship and effectiveness of disperser in existence of the particular
plant species. Seed dispersal sometimes may be disadvantageous if the
seed is mechanically damaged by the dispersal vectors or if it is not
dispersed in its suitable environment. However apart from a few
disadvantages seed dispersal is very much important as existence of certain
species of plants is totally dependent on seed dispersal. The investigation
of the dispersal
sal of plants has progressed generally quickly in the most
recent decade, as basic components of the transformative and
environmental causes and outcomes of dispersal have been examined. The
connection between seed dispersal and its segment and hereditary results is
one significant hole that actually should be filled.
REFERENCE:
 COHSEM text book class XII
 www. en.wikipedia.org
 www.google.com
 www.scribd.com
 https://byjus.com/biology
 www.slideshare.net