Does passage time through the lizard Podarcis lilfordi's guts affect germination performance in the plant Withania frutescens?

I tasted predictions of the hypothesis that a longer seed passage time thro ugh the gut of the lizard Podarcis lilfordi enhances germination performanc e in the plant Withania frutescens. I compared germination success and germ ination time between seeds that were ingested by lizards and control seeds that were not. I also explored relationships between natural variation in s eed passage time and germination performance. Germination success did not d iffer between ingested (63 %) and non-ingested seeds (56 %); there was no s ignificant relationship between germinability and retention time. Germinati on time did not differ between ingested and non-ingested seeds, and was unr elated to retention time. Hence, I found no support for the hypothesis that prolonged retention times should improve germination performance. In addit ion, this is a pilot study stressing the importance of reptiles as seed dis persers, at least in certain habitats. (C) 2000 Editions scientifiques et m edicales Elsevier SAS.