Seed dispersal syndrome

A seed dispersal syndrome is a combination of seed or fruit traits associated with a mode of seed dispersal. Wings can favor transport by wind, while fleshy fruits can attract animals that later deposit the enclosed seeds. The traits generate a hypothesis about likely transport, not direct proof of the agent responsible for every dispersal event.

A comparative study connecting fruit traits with observed disperser networks found that morphological traits better supported broad groups of dispersing birds, terrestrial mammals and bats than chemical or display traits did.^[ref] Direct observations remain valuable because removal of a fruit, deposition of a viable seed and establishment after germination are different stages of successful seed dispersal.