Granivore

A granivore is an animal that feeds primarily on seeds or grain. Granivory is a specialized form of feeding found across several animal groups.

Seed predation: The consumption of seeds by animals before they can germinate. Granivores act as seed predators when they eat seeds rather than disperse them.
Crop raiding: The consumption or destruction of cultivated crops by wild animals. Granivorous birds and mammals can remove planted grain and ripening crops.
Plant recruitment: The establishment of new plants into a population through successful germination and survival. Granivory changes how many seeds survive to become seedlings.
Herbivory: The consumption of living plant material by animals. Granivory is a specialized form of herbivory focused on seeds.
Seed dispersal: The movement of seeds away from their parent plants by wind, water, or animals. Some animals transport viable seeds instead of destroying them, producing a different plant outcome.
Bird control: Methods used to reduce damage caused by birds, especially to crops and buildings. Measures against granivorous birds aim to limit seed and grain losses.
Janzen–Connell hypothesis: The hypothesis that host-specific enemies reduce survival of seeds and seedlings near parent trees, promoting diversity. Seed predators can help shape plant distributions and species coexistence.
Frugivory: The consumption of fruits by animals, often with seeds dispersed afterward. Frugivores generally eat fleshy fruit, while granivores target seeds or grain.
Granivorous bird: A bird whose diet consists mainly of seeds or grain. Birds show how beaks and feeding behavior can be adapted to cracking seeds.
Seed bank: A reserve of viable seeds stored naturally in soil or deliberately in a collection. Granivores can reduce the seeds available to persist and recruit from a seed bank.

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