Ringnecks and Eremophilas

[(Richard Johnson)]

Hi all

Emus are not merely reputed to eat Eremophila fruit, they actually do so. In this neck of the woods (central- and south-western Qld) their conspicuous droppings, replete with Eremophila seeds, are a handy way to detect the birds' presence when they are not apparent otherwise. Emus might be very important seed dispersers for some plant species - I wonder if anyone has looked at this subject? Their rainforest cousin, the Cassowary, is regarded by some as a 'keystone' species, having a crucial role in seed dispersal for large-fruited rainforest trees. The poo of a cassowary is chokka with seeds - after a bit of rain they can look a bit like a bean sprout box as the seeds germinate!

Richard

Robert Read wrote:

> I know emus are reputed to eat Eremophila fruit and
> pass the seeds
> undigested, hence the common name emu-bush for some species.
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Richard Johnson
Roma District
Tel: (07) 4622 4266  Fax: (07) 46 22 4151
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