Cockroach gardeners: Spreading plant seeds across the forest floor
Friday, August 4, 2017 - 04:32
in Biology & Nature
In forest ecosystems, cockroaches are known as important decomposers that consume dead and decaying plants. Quite unexpectedly, however, researchers have found that they also provide seed dispersal services for the plant Monotropastrum humile, a forest-floor herb belonging to the azalea family (Ericaceae). This entirely new mode of plant-insect interaction is reported online in the July 27th, 2017 issue of the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society.