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Dispersal vector
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The seeds of dandelions are adapted to wind dispersal. In the biology of dispersal, a dispersal vector is "an agent transporting seeds or other dispersal units".[1] Dispersal vectors may include biotic factors, such as animals, or abiotic factors, such as the wind or the ocean.[1]

Humans have been acting as dispersal vectors since we began moving around the planet, bringing non-native plants and animals with us. As trends in urbanization have increased, urban environments can act as staging grounds for species dispersal and invasion. Many non-native species exist in urban environments and the high rate of movement in an out of urban areas leads to a high level of dispersal to neighboring environments. [2]

Another type of dispersal vector is a migratory bird, also known as "long distance dispersal vectors" (LDD). Sucker, or bud dispersal that goes beyond local studies has been considered rare and unpredictable. However, for many plants, invertebrates, and microbes dispersed by birds, long-distance dispersal (LDD) could possibly be regularly practiced when mediated by migratory movements. Because LDD operates over spatial areas that span thousands and thousands of kilometers, it can promote rapid range shifts and determine species distributions.[3]