Date of Thesis
Spring 2025
Description
Australian bush tomatoes in northern Western Australia likely have seed dispersal mechanisms that depend on processes outside of frugivory, which is unusual for this genus. Solanum tudununggae seeds are wind dispersed by the censer mechanism, meaning that seeds fall from holes in the top of the fruit when the branches move. In another species, piles of abscised and burr-like fruits have been found strewn around the bases of S. ossicruentum, possibly due to the extinction of animals that may have been a means of dispersal via epizoochory. In this study, we attempt to provide support for the theorized dispersal mechanism for these two species of Solanum. The S. tudununggae censer mechanism will be tested by shaking individual plants with mature fruit and recording the number of fallen seeds and the distance of each from the plant. To ascertain information about the seed disperser for S. ossicruentum, animal pelts with varying thickness, density, and hair length will be used to assess fruit adherence. The number of fruits that stick to each individual pelt will help narrow down the possible identity of the disperser of S. ossicruentum. The results from these experiments will confirm the mechanisms proposed in previous studies and provide implications of these newly supported hypotheses.
Keywords
Australian Monsoon Tropics, bush tomato, censer mechanism, seed dispersal, trample burr, Solanum, Epizoochory
Access Type
Honors Thesis
Degree Type
Bachelor of Science
Major
Animal Behavior
Minor, Emphasis, or Concentration
Computer Science
First Advisor
Christopher Martine
Second Advisor
Mizuki Takahashi
Third Advisor
Sarah Smith
Recommended Citation
Motter, Abigail, "The Aussie Oddballs: Identifying The Existence of Censer and Trample Burr Dispersal in Australian Bush Tomatoes" (2025). Honors Theses. 707.
https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/honors_theses/707