Seed predation

Seed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of animal–plant interaction in which granivores (seed predators) actively forage and feed on the seeds of spermatophytic plants as a main or exclusive source of food and nutrients, in many cases leaving the seeds damaged and not viable. Granivores are found across many groups of herbivorous and omnivorous vertebrates (especially mammals and birds) as well as some invertebrates (mainly insects); thus, seed predation occurs in virtually all terrestrial ecosystems where seed plants exist.

Seed predation is commonly divided into two distinctive temporal categories, i.e. pre-dispersal and post-dispersal predation, which affect the fitness of the parental plant and the dispersed offspring (the seed), respectively. Mitigating pre- and post-dispersal predation may involve different anti-predator defense strategies. To counter seed predation, plants have evolved both physical defenses (e.g. shape, cryptic coloration and toughness of the seed coat) and chemical defenses (toxic/unpleasant secondary compounds such as tannins and alkaloids). However, as plants have evolved seed defenses, seed predators have adapted correspondingly to plant defenses (e.g., ability to detoxify chemical compounds). Thus, many interesting examples of coevolution arise from this dynamic relationship.