Large herbivores can disperse seeds over long distances through endozoochory. The Korean water deer (Hydropotes inermis argyropus), an internationally vulnerable species but locally considered a vermin, is a potential endozoochorous seed dispersal vector. In this study, feeding experiments were conducted to test the efficiency of seed dispersal through gut ingestion by the Korean water deer, its temporal pattern and the effect of gut passage on seed recovery and germination rate. Eight plant species, including species that formerly germinated from its faeces, were used to feed three Korean water deer. Once the deer had consumed all the provided seeds, their faeces were collected after 24, 48, 72 and 96 h. The collected faeces were air-dried, and the number of seeds retrieved from the faeces was counted every 24 h (0–24, 24–48, 48–72 and 72–96 h). Among the eight plant species, six species were retrieved with intact seeds. Panicum bisulcatum had the highest recovery rate of 33.7%, followed by Amaranthus mangostanus (24.5%) and Chenopodium album (14.4%). Most of the seeds were recovered within the 24–48 h time interval. Germination tests were conducted on the ingested and uningested seeds for the four species which had a sufficient recovery rate. The effects of gut passage on seed germination differed according to plant species. The germination rate substantially decreased after gut passage. The results suggest that the Korean water deer can disperse seeds, potentially over long distances albeit at a high cost of low seed recovery and germination rate.

中文翻译：

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韩国水鹿 (Hydropotes inermis argyropus) 肠道通过后的种子恢复和发芽率

大型食草动物可以通过内生动物长距离传播种子。韩国水鹿（Hydropotes inermis argyropus) 是一种国际易危物种，但在当地被认为是害虫，是一种潜在的内生动物种子传播媒介。在这项研究中，进行了喂养实验，以测试韩国水鹿通过肠道摄取种子传播的效率、其时间模式以及肠道通道对种子恢复和发芽率的影响。八种植物物种，包括以前从其粪便中发芽的物种，被用来喂养三只韩国水鹿。鹿吃完所有提供的种子后，在 24、48、72 和 96 小时后收集它们的粪便。将收集的粪便风干，每 24 小时（0-24、24-48、48-72 和 72-96 小时）计数从粪便中回收的种子数量。在 8 种植物中，有 6 种植物的种子完好无损。甘薯回收率最高，为 33.7%，其次是山竹苋(24.5%) 和藜专辑(14.4%)。大多数种子在 24-48 小时的时间间隔内被回收。对具有足够恢复率的四个物种的摄入和未摄入种子进行了发芽试验。肠道通道对种子萌发的影响因植物种类而异。肠道通过后发芽率显着降低。结果表明，韩国水鹿可以散播种子，尽管种子回收率和发芽率低的成本很高，但可能远距离传播。