Plant traits associated with seed dispersal by ducks and geese in urban and natural habitats

1. Ducks and geese are little studied dispersal vectors for plants lacking a fleshy fruit, and our understanding of the traits associated with these plants is limited.

2. We analysed 507 faecal samples of mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and Canada goose (Branta canadensis) from 18 natural and urban wetlands in England, where they are the dominant resident waterfowl.

3.We recovered 930 plant diaspores from 39 taxa representing 18 families, including 28 terrestrial and five aquatic species, and four aliens. Mallards had more seeds and seed species per sample than geese, more seeds from barochory and hydrochory syndromes, and seeds that on average were larger and from plants with greater moisture requirements (i.e., more aquatic). Mallards dispersed more plant species than geese in natural habitats. Plant communities and traits dispersed were different between urban (e.g. more achenes) and natural (e.g. more capsules) habitats.

4.Waterfowl can readily spread alien species from urban into natural environments, but also allow native terrestrial and aquatic plants to disperse in response to climate heating or other global change. Throughout the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, the mallard is accompanied by a goose (either the Canada goose or the greylag goose) as the most abundant waterfowl in urbanized areas. This combination provides a previously overlooked seed dispersal service for plants with diverse traits.