In mutualism, animals are benefited by plants and plants by animals. Such mutually beneficial interactions have recently been observed between certain animals and certain plants of the Indian desert and some examples are mentioned below.
There are many ways in which animals derive benefits from plants. Various a plant part (or products) e.g., leaves, fruits, seeds, pollen and nectar, serve as food for animals. Gazelle, black buck and hare feed on leaves and shoots of Capparis, Crotalaria, Zizyphus, Cucurbit a, and Prosopis cineraria whereas gerbils eat the leaves and shoots of Zizyphus. Squirrels, gazelle, partridges, doves, hares and other animals eat the fruits and seeds of these desert plants. Honeybees, insects and certain other animals eat the nectar, anthers and flowers of the above-mentioned plants.
Trees of P. cineraria, Zizyphus, Maytenus, etc., provide shelter to various insects, birds, squirrels, monogoose and snakes. Some of these animals rest on these plants, others roost, and still others both rest and roost. Some owls, bats and snakes take shelter in the hollows of P. cineraria.
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Such birds as drongo, vultures, crow, mynas and owls prefer to build their nests on P. cineraria, babblers and bulbuls prefer either Zizyphus or Capparis for this purpose, whereas doves build nests mainly on Zizyphus, and white- throated munias build on Capparis. Ground birds (e.g., partridge, peafowl) make their nests in thickets of bushes of Zizyphus and Prosopis and such mammals as jackal, cat, mongoose, hare and gazelle build their burrows beneath similar thickets of Maytenus, Capparis and Zizyphus.
A few ways in which plants derive benefits from animals are exemplified below. Animals benefit plants by aiding their pollination, seed dispersal, and by providing dung and manure, etc.
Nectarinia asiatica (sunbird) is the chief pollinating agent for Calotropis, Capparis, Tecomella, and P. cineraria; honeybee mainly pollinates P. cineraria, Maytenus, Salvadora, etc., and various butterflies pollinate Lycium, Tephrosia, Crotalaria and others.
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Deers, hares, geibils, squirrels and certain birds are involved in seed dispersal-of various desert plants. In most cases these animals eat fleshy fruits and disperse the seeds, but in the case of Cenchrus spp., mechanical adhesion is the cause of dispersal.
Burrowing animals enrich the fertility of soil by their droppings and excreta, etc., and the nutrients so released are absorbed by plant roots.
In some cases, animal burrows promote plant growth by aeration of the otherwise hard soil. Underground burrows are a good source of air in the root zone.