Theory 25/Seed ecology
Bribes Are Distance Against Predation
The claim
Investment in an elaiosome is set by the ratio of dispersal distance gained to seed predation risk, so plants pay ants more where the alternative is being eaten.
01Mechanism
The elaiosome is a payment that induces ants to carry the seed; the ratio determines how much payment is worth making.
02Predictions
- P1Elaiosome size should track the ratio.
- P2Seed size alone should mispredict.
03Refutation
Investment tracking seed size would remove the predation term.
04Why it resists the grid
A plant trait that exists only because of an animal behaviour, with the fitness accounting spread across two kingdoms.