CE.R.

T IFl'CATE
1

This is to certify that __of d ass XI=_ 1

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no, has su1cmssfuL e · .·011ogy

invest:i11atary project 0 n 1
· . prescribed
by Al I Ind Ia Senior Secondary Certificate ExaminatJo n
(AISSCE) for the ,academic year- 2020-21.

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E&Jn.. EXTERNAL .E XAMIN"l:R

PRINCIPAL
1
 AK.NOWLEOOEMENT
I WOULD UK.£ TO EXPRESS MY SPECIAL THANKS TO MY BIOLOOY
TEACHER MRS.ANNU SIN6H AS WELL AS OUR PRINCIPAL
DR. RASHMIREKHA SAHA FOR THEIR ABLE 6UIDANCE AND
SUPPORT IN COMPLETIN6 MY PROJECT ON

---·---- ·------- - - - - - - - -
SECONDLY l WOULD LIKE TO THANKS MY PARENTS AND FRIENDS
WHO HELPED ME WITH THEIR VALUABLE SU66ESTIONS AND
6UIDANCE HAS BEEN HELPFUL IN COMPLETION Of MY PROJECT.

NAME:-·- - - - - - -
CLASS: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
 Acknowledgement
I would like to express my special thanks of
gratitude to my teacher (name of the teacher)
as well as our Principal who
gave me the golden opportunity to do this
wonderful project on the topic (name of the
top ic) and also supporting and guiding me to
complete the project duly.

I am thankful to and fortunate enough to get

constant encouragement, support and guidance
from my Parents, Friends and Teaching Staffs
who helped me in successfully completing my
project work.
 CONTENTS

• Introduction

• What is a seed'?

• What are angiosperms?

• Different types of seed dispersal

• Dispersal of seed by animals

• Dispersal of seed by birds

• Dispersal of seed by ants

• List of fruits taken for observation

• Observation

• Conclusion

• Reference
1. INTRODUCTION
The process of scattering of fruits and seeds to distant places away
from d1cir parent is called dispersal on dissemination. It provides the
new plants better chances of obtaining water, nutrients, light and
space thereby enabling them to have a bet1er start in life.

The fruits and seeds develop many devices for better dispersal
through different agencies.

The principaJ agencies 1hat aid in the dispersal of fruits and seeds are
wind (anemochory), water (hydrochory) and animals including man
(zoochory). Besides, so1nc plants show self dispersal by explosive
mechanism (autochory}. The dispersal through the agency of animals
is considered as the best and most successful method. Dispersal of
seeds and fruits is quite interesting subject of natural phenomenon and
hence the study of dispersal of seeds by ani1nals a nd birds as
agencies has been selected for the present proj,cct.
2. WHAT IS A SEED?
Seed, the characteristic reproductive body of both angiospen111s
and gymnospe rms . Essentially, a seed consists of a miniature
undeveloped p lant (the embryo). which , alone or in the company of
stored food for its early development after genn ination, is surrounded
by a protective coat (the testa). Frequently small in size and making
negligible demands upon their env ironment , seeds are eminently suited
to perform a wide variety of functions the rc·latlonships of which arc
not always obvious: multiplication, perennation (surviving seasons of
stress sucb as winter), dormancy (a state of arrested development), and
dispersal. Pollination and the "seed habit" are considered the most
important factors responsible for the overwhelming cvolutional)'
success of the flowering plants, which number more than 300,000
species.

The superiority of dispersal by means of seeds over the more primitive

method involving single-celled spores. lies mainly in two factors: the
stored reserve of nu t.ri cn1 material that gives, the new generation an
excellent growing start and the seed's multicellular structure. The
latter factor provides ample opportunity for the development
of adapiations for dispersal, such as plumes for w ind dispersal, barbs,
and others.
3. WHAT IS ANGIOSPERM?
lo the typical flowering plant, or angiospcnn. seeds arc formed from
bodies called ovu les contained in the ovary. or basal part of the
female plant structure. the pistJ I. The mature ovu le contains in its
central part a region called the nuce.llus that in tum contains an
embryo sac with eight nuclei, each with one set of chro111osomes . The
two nuclei near the ecnll'C arc referred to as polar nuclei: the cggcell,
or oospherc. is situated near the micropylar ("open") end of the ovule.

W ilh very few exceptions (e.g., the dandelion), development of lll!C

ovule into a seed is dependent upon fertilization, which in tum
follows poUjnation. Poll en grains that land on the stigma of the pistil
will genninatc. if they arc of the swne species, and produce pollen
tubes, each of which grows down within the· style toward an ovule.
Tbe pollen tube has three haploid nuclei, one of them, the so-
called vegetative, or tube, nucleus seems to direct the operations of
the growing struerure. The other two, the general ive nuclei. can be
thought of as oonmotile sperm cells. After reaching an ovule and
breaking out of the pollen tube tip, one generative nucleus unites with
the egg cell to form a diploid zygo1e . The zygote undergoes a limited
number of divisions and g ives rise to an embryo. The other generative
n ucleus fuses with the two polar nuclei to produce a triploid nucleus,
which divides repeatedly before cell-wall formation occurs. This
process gives rise to the triploid endosperm, a nutrient tissue that
contains a variety of storage materials-s uch as stra1ch, s ugars, fats,
proteins, hcmicelluloses and and phytate (a phosphate reserve). The
events just described constitute what 1s called the double -
fen i lization process, one of the characteristic features of all flowering
plants. In the orchi.ds. and in some other pla nts with minute seeds 1hat
contain no reserve materials. endosperm formation is completely
suppressed. In other cases it is greatly reduced, but the reserve
materials are present elsewhere e.g., in the co11y ledons, or seed leaves,
of the embryo, as in beans, lettuce, and peanuts, or in a tissue derived
from the nucellus, the pcrisperm. as in coffee. Other seeds, such as
those of bec1s, contain both perispenn and endosperm. The seed coat,
or testa, is derived from the one or two protective integuments of the
ovule. The ovary, in th£ s implest case, develops into a fruit. In many
plants, such as grasses and lettuce, 1he outer integument and ovary
wall arc completely fused, so seed and fruit form one entity; such
seeds and fruits can logically he described togetlier as ~dispersal
units," or diaspores. More often, however, the· seeds are discrete units
attached to the placenta on lhe inside of the fruit wall lhrougb a stalk,
or ftmicu lus.

The hilum of a liberated seed is a small scar marking its former place
of attachment. The short ridge (raphe) that sometimes leads away
from the hilum is fonned by the fusion of :seed stalk and testa. In
many seeds, the micr-0pyle o f the ovule also persists as a small
opening in the seed coat. The embryo, variously located in the seed,
m ay be very small (as in buttercups) or may fill the seed almost
completely (as in roses and plants of the mus1ard fam il y). It consist~
of a root pan, or rad ic[e, a prospective shoot (plumulc or epicotyl),
one or more cotyledons ( one or two in flowering plants, several
in Pi1111s and other gymnosperms), and a hypocotyl, which is a region
that connects radicle and plumule. A classification of seeds can be
b ased on size and position of the embryo and on the proportion of
embryo to storage tissue: the possession of either one or two
cotyledons is considered crucial in recognizing two main groups of
flowering plants, the monocotyledons and the eudicoty lcdons.
Seedlings, arising from embryos in the process of gennination, are
classified as cpigcal (cotyledons aboveground, usually green alki
capable of photosynthesis) Wld hypogcal (cotyledons belowground).
4. DIFFERNET TYPES OF SEED
DISPERSAL :-
l. Hydrochory :- Dispersal of seed through water i~ eallod
hydrochory.

Example : Coconu t, Lotus , Water Lilly

2, Zoochory : Dispersal of seeds by animals, birds and insects

is called zoochory

Example: Guava, Castor, chaff-flower

3. Anemochory :- Dispersal of seeds by wi nd 1s callod

anemochory.

Example : Maple. Chilbi. Sal

4. Myrmecochory : - Dispersal of seeds by ants is called

mynnccochory

Example: African mahogany, Nipplcwon, Castor

5. DISPERSAL OF SEED BY
ANIMALS:-
Snails disperse the small seeds of a very few plant species
(e.g., Adara). Eanhwonns arc n1ore important as seed dispersers.
Many intact fruits and seeds can serve as fish bait, those
of Sonneratia, for example, for ihc catfish Arius mac11lai1L~.
Certain A1nazon River fis hes react positively to the audible
--explosions" of the ripe fruits of Eperua r11bigi11osa. Fossilc vidcnce
indicates that saurochory rs very ancient. The giant
Galapagos tortoise is important for the dispersal of
local ~ and tomatoes. The name a/lig((tQ1· «pole for Annona
gll,bra refers to its method of dispersal. an example of saurochory.
Many birds and 111am1nals, ranging in size from mire and kangaroo
rats to elephants, eat and disperse seeds and fruits. in the
tropics, chiropterocboiy (dispersal by large .b.!.!.s such as t1 yin c
foxes. Pteropus) is particularly lmponant Fruits adapted to these
animals arc relatively large and drab in colour, with large seeds and a
striking (often rank) odour. Such frui1S are accessible to bats because
of the pagoda-like structure ofihe lree canopy, fruit placement on tJt.e
main trunk, or suspension from long stalks that hang free of dtc
foliage. Examples include mani:ocs, i:uava~. breadfruit, carob, and
several fuspccies. ln :South Africa, a desert melon (Cucumis
Jium.ifructus) participates in a symbiotic relationship with aardvarks-
the animals cat the frui1 for its water content and bury their own dung,
which contains the seeds, near their burrows.

Furry terrestrial manunals arc the agents most frequently involved

in epizoochory. the inadvertent carrying by animals of dispersal units.
Burrlikc seeds and fruits, or those diaspores provided with spines,
hooks, claws, bristles, barbs, grapples, and prickles, arc genuioo
h itchhikers, clinging lenaciously to their carriers. Their functional
shape is achieved in various way-in cleavers, or bedstraw (Gali11m
t1fX1rine), and cnchantcr's nii:htshadc (Circaet, l111e1ia11a). the hooks
are part of the fruit itself; in common a~rimonv (Agrimonia
e11patoria), the fruit is covered by a persistent calyx equipped with
hooks; in wood aycns (Ge1m1 1,rba1111m), the persistent styles have
hooked tips. Other exa,nples arc bur marigolds, or beggar's-ticks
( Bidens species); buffal.obur (Solanumrostratum); burdoc k (Arc1/11m)~
Acaena; and many Medicago species. The last-named, with dispersal
units highly resistant to damage from hot water and certain chemicals
(dyes), have achieved wide global distribution through the wool trade.

A so1ncwhat different principle is employed by the so-callcd trample

burrs, said to lodge themselves between the hooves of large grazing
mammals. Examples arc mule grab (Proboscidea) and the African
grapple plant (/Jarpagophyt11m). In water burrs, such as thos.e of the
water ill!! Trapa, the spines should probably be considered as
anchoring devices.
h ide haz.elnuts and acom~; Lhc nuthatches: and the
California woodpecker(Ba/a,rosp/,yra), which may embed literally
thousands of acorns, ahnonds. and pecan nuts in bark fissures or holes
o f u:ccs. Secondarily, rodent~ may aid in dispersal by stealing the
embedded diasporcs and bury ing them. In Germany an average jay
m ay transpon about 4,600 acorns per season, over distances of up to 4
km (2.5 miles). Woodpeckers, nutcrackers, and squirrels are
responsible for a similar dispersal of Pi111is cembra in the AlD.S near
the tree line.

Most omithochores (plants with bird-dispersed seeds)

have com;picuousdiaspores attractive to such fruit-eating bird s
as thrushes, pii:cons, barbcts (members of the bird fwnily
Capiionidac). toucans, and hornb iUs(family Bucerotidac), a ll of which
either excrete or regurg itate the hard embryo-containing part
undamaged. Such diaspores have a fleshy, sweet, or oil-containing
edible pan; a striking colour (often red or orange); no pronounced
smell; a protection againSI be ing eaten prematurely in the fonn of
acids and tannins that are present only in the green fruit; a protection
of the seed against digestion- bitterness, hardness, or the presence of
poisonous compounds; permanent attachment; and, finaUy, absence of
a hard outer cover. In contrast to bat-dispersed diasporcs, they occupy
no specia l position on the plant. Examples
a re rose hips. plums, dol?wood fruits, barbcny.
red curranL n1ulbcn:y, a utmcl? fruits, fu:s, blackberries, and od1crs.
The natural and abundant occurrence of Euo1n·m11,r. which is a largely
tropical genus, in temperate Europe and Asia. can be understood only
in connection with the activities of birds. Birds also contributed
substantiaUy to the rcpopulation wjth plants of the
island Krakatoa after the catastrophic eruption of 1883. Birds have
made [.,g11111110 (originally American) a pest
in l.ndonesia and Australia; the same is true -of wild plums (Pn11111s
serotina) in parts of Europe, Rribus species in Brazil and Ne\v
Zealand. and oljycs (Olea e11ropaea) in Australia.
M jmicry- lhc protec1ion-afTording imitation -o f a dangerous or toxic
species by an edible, bannless one-is sho"' n in reverse by certain
bird-dispersed "coral seeds·' such as those of many species in the
genera Abr11s, Ormosia, Rl1.~11chosia, Ade11a11rhera, and Erythri11a.
Hard and often shiny red or black and red, many such seeds
deceptively suggest the presence of a fleshy red ari l and thus invite
the attention of hungry birds.
6. DISPERSAL OF SEEDS BY
BIRDS:-.
Birds. being preening animals, rarely carry bu.rrlike diasporcs on their
bodies. They do, however, transpon the very sticky (vi.~cid) fruits
of Pisonia, a tropical tree of the four-0 'clock fam ily. to distant Pacific
islands in this way. Small diaspores, such as those of sedges and
certain i,:rasscs, may also be carried in the mud sticking
to wmcrfowl and tcrrcsuial birds.

Synzoochory, deliberate carrying of diasporcs by animals, is practiced

when buds carry seeds and diaspores in their beaks. The European
mistle thrush, T11rd11s ,,iscivor11s, deposits the viscid seeds of
European mistletoe ( Vi~c,m, album) on potential host plants when,
after a meal of the berries, it whets its bi.II on branches or simply
regurgitates the seeds. The Nonh American (PhoraderuJron) and
Australian mistletoes (Ameyema) are dispersed by various birds, and
the comparable tropical species of the plant
family Loranrhaceac by nowcrpeckers (of the hlrl;!family Dicaeidae},
which have a highly specialized gimrd that allows seeds to pas:s
through but retains in sects. Plants may also profit from the
forgetfulness and sloppy habits of certain nut-eating birds
that cache part of their food but neglect 10 recover everything or drop
units on their way to the hiding place. Best known in this respect arc
the nutcrackers (.IV11cifraga), which feed largely on the "nuts"
of beech. mik, walnut. chcsmut, and hazel: the .im (Garn1/14v), which
7. DISPERSAL OF SEEDS BY ANTS:-
Mediterranean and North American harves1er
ilJllS (Messor. Alla. Te1ramori11m, and P/reidole) arc essentially
destructive, storing and fermenting many seeds and eating 1he1n
complc1cly. Other ants (Lasi11s, Mym,ica, amd Formica species) cal
the fleshy, edible appendage (the fat body or elaiosome) of certain
specialized seeds, which they disperse. Most mynneoochorous plants
(species of
violet. primrose. hcpa lica. cvclarncn, anetnonc , corydalis, Trillium .
and bloodroot) belong to the herbaceous spring flora of northern
forests. Tree poppy /Dendromecon), however, is found in !he dry
California chaparral: Melica and Ce111a11reaspccics, m arid
Mediterranean regions. The so-called ant c piphytcs of the tropics ( i.e.,
species of Hoya, Disclridia, Aesclry11a111hus, and M.vrmecodia- plants
that live in "ant gardens .. on trees or offer the .ants shelter in their own
b ody cavities) constitute a special group of 1nyrmccochorcs that
provide oi l in seed hairs. The ancestral forms of 1hcse hairs must have
served 10 wind dispersal The primary anl attractant of
mynncoochorous seeds is not necessarily oiJ; instead, an unsaturated,
somewhat volatile fa1ty acid is suspected in some cases. The
myrmeoochorous plant as a whole may also have specific adaptations:
for example. cyc lamen brings fruits and seeds within reach of ants by
conspicuous coiling (shortening) of the flower stalk as soon as
flowering is over.
3. Common Na1nc ; Caltrop

Scientific Name : Tribulus terrestris

Agent for seed dispersal : Ani1nals like humans. dogs, cal5,
e le phants helps in dispersal of seeds.
Characteristics : The nutlcts are hard. and bear two 10 four
sharp spines. The spines of the nudets point upward, where they
slick into feet and fur of animals, and arc thereby
dispersed . This causes damage to domesticated liveSlock.

•· Common Name : Ca.'llor

Scientific Name : RicinlL~ communis

Agent for seed dispersal : Insects like many species of ants,
helps in dispersal of castor seed~.
Characteristics : The seeds contain between 40"/o and 60"/o oil
that is rich in triglycerides, mainly ricino lcin. The seed also
contains ricin , a ,vatcr-solub le tox ill, which is also present in
lower concentrations throughout the plant
9.0BSERVATION :-
1. Common Name : Guava

Scientific Name : Psidium guajava

Agent for seed dlispcrsal : Birds like Bulbul, Starling. Mynah
and animal~ like squirrel, rats.
Characteristics : They have fleshy and sweet fruit around its
seeds to attract animals for dispersal.

2. Common Name : Chaff-flower

Scientific Narne : Ac hyranthcs aspera

Agent for seed dispersal : Animals like dog, cat, civets, cows,
humans, Etc., disperse the seeds.
Characteristics : They have spiny covering around its seedls
which sticks to the fur and skin of anima Is.
r

1t
•

8. LIST OF SEEDS TAKEN FOR

OBSERVATION:-
I. Urena lobata

2. Tribulus terrestris

3. Ricinus communis

4. Achyranthcs aspera

5. Psidium Guajava
10. CONCLUS,J ON :-
Most of the seed bearin,g fruits ha\re modified slmcb.Jres life
sw,c ct and neslly fruhs ·for· 3llmct~on of birds and animals far ·1,be seed
ruspersal, \fery stro112 pericarp, with spines and hookes 10 slick on
mmmals and to dis.per,se their seeds for the reproduction and conon·llity
of their species~