TheLimeyCanuck t1_j9ibe6x wrote on February 22, 2023 at 4:13 AM

Reply to comment by CaptainStack in TIL - That avocado seeds are so large because they depended on extinct megafauna to eat and disperse them. by byronhadleigh

Humans. The same way that domesticated turkeys would die off in a generation without human artificial insemination.

GrumpyDumps t1_j9jpbjw wrote on February 22, 2023 at 1:38 PM

Yeah but what about the gap in time where the majority of megafauna died off before humans began cultivation? I don't know how long that would be, but it seems like it would be a long ass time. How do the avacados propagate then?

SlinkyAvenger t1_j9k0gzj wrote on February 22, 2023 at 3:20 PM

They wouldn't propagate as far without taking a ride in an animal's intestinal tract, but they would remain in their general area.

TheLimeyCanuck t1_j9kdcz7 wrote on February 22, 2023 at 4:55 PM

Firstly, humans didn't need to cultivate them initially to save the species, they only had to consume them while foraging and move the seeds around. Secondly, even if it took humans a long interval before they positively affected avocado procreation they could still have limped along as an endangered species for centuries without fully dying out.