Dispersal of Geophytes by Mole-Voles in the Spanish Pyrenees

Abstract
We investigated the interactions between geophytes and the mole-voles Microtus gerbei, M. duodecimcostatus, and M. lusitanicns. Previous observations in the Spanish Pyrenees showed a significantly higher frequency of species of geophytes in old mounds compared with the surrounding vegetation. All three species of mole-voles feed extensively on storage organs of geophytes. We found 193 uneaten storage organs of geophytes in 105 mole-vole mounds examined. Almost all of the storage organs were small (mean weight = 1.02 g) and a high percentage of these geophytes had sprouted. We, therefore, propose that geophytes are dispersed by mole-voles in the Spanish Pyrenees.