Manuel Lara
Learn with Manuel Lara about Seed- dispersing mammals.
Seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant to new sites for germination and the establishment of new individuals. Plants rely on dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors (such as wind, rain or gravity), and living (biotic) vectors such as animals, which can disperse plant seeds in several ways (all of them named zoochory). For example, seeds can be transported on the outside of the animal (epizoochory), or on the inside, via ingestion and defecation of the seeds (endozoochory), and it is called synzoochory when animals intentionally transport their food (seeds) to store them for late consumption, like squirrels do, being mammals, one of the most studied groups of seed-dispersers. These adap- tive mechanisms allow plants, which have limited mobility, to coloniz new habitats.
“Plants rely on dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors and living vectors.”
Rhincodon typus (A. Smith, 1828)
Order: Orectolobiformes
Family: Rhincodontidae
FEATURES
DESCRIPTION
The whale shark is the largest known fish, with the largest specimen recorded at 20 meters long. They have fusiform bodies, the head is depressed, broad and flattened, with a large terminal mouth that can measure up to 1.5 meters. Their dorsal, or upper side has distinct markings and patterns that resemble a checkerboard, composed of light spots and stripes over a dark body, creating a disruptive coloration pattern.
HABITAT
This species can regularly be found in the offshore waters of Australia, Belize, Ecuador, Mexico, the Philippines, and South Africa, preferring surface waters between 21° and 30°C. These giant zooplanktivores are usually found in coastal zones with high food productivity.
SIGHTING POINTS
They are considered docile and gentle giants, not representing danger for humans despite their size. Ecotourism industries based on snorkeling and whale shark watching are now established in several locations, including Mexico, Australia, Philippines, southeastern Africa, Seychelles, Maldives, Belize and Honduras. In these areas, monitoring must be continuous to ensure that high levels of tourism do not have a negative effect on the behavior of the species at their aggregation sites.
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Learn with Manuel Lara about species in his article “Animal Sanctuaries”.
Learn with Manuel Lara about species in his article “Animal Sanctuaries”.
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