What is active and passive dispersion in plants and animals with examples?

Answer 1

Active dispersion:

Believe it or not, some plants actually 'throw out' seeds. This is the only active dispersion I know of. An educated guess would be plants that send out shoot underground to grow farther away from the mother plant. Example would be plant's like yaupon and ruellia. (Another example is the touch-me-not, also called impatiens or jewelweed.)

Passive dispersion:

This would be dispersion by wind or animals. Examples would be things like the seeds of dandelions that are blown away from the mother plant by the wind. Stickers and burs get caught in the fur of animals and are deposited somewhere esle. This also happens when animals eat plants. Often times the seeds are not digested. They pass throught the digestive system and are excreted with feces.

Answer 2

Active dispersion in plants and animals involves the intentional movement of seeds or offspring to new locations, often facilitated by mechanisms such as wind, animals, or self-propulsion. An example is fruit-eating birds spreading seeds to different areas. Passive dispersion, on the other hand, relies on external factors like wind or water to carry seeds or offspring to new locations without direct involvement from the organism. An example is dandelion seeds being carried by the wind to new areas for germination.