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myrmecochory
Aug. 1st, 2011 07:27 ammyrmecochory (meer-mi-KAW-kohr-ee) - n., the dispersal of seeds and fruits by ants.
A form of mutualism: the seeds have food the ants want, and the plants get spread at least as far as their colony. Per Wikipedia, over 3000 species of plants worldwide use myrmicochory. Coined from Greek roots myrmeco-, ant + -chory, dispersal, from khōreō, to move, spread. The ants, in case you are wondering, are acting as chores, or dispersal agents.
---L.
A form of mutualism: the seeds have food the ants want, and the plants get spread at least as far as their colony. Per Wikipedia, over 3000 species of plants worldwide use myrmicochory. Coined from Greek roots myrmeco-, ant + -chory, dispersal, from khōreō, to move, spread. The ants, in case you are wondering, are acting as chores, or dispersal agents.
---L.
