Who Dung It? The Impact of Seed Dispersal by Mammals on the fate of MILIUSA LINEATA (Annonaceae) Seeds in a Dry Evergreen Forest, Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand

Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Gilchrist, Sandra

Keywords

Seed Dispersal, Southeast Asia, Germination

Area of Concentration

Ecology

Abstract

This thesis assesses the impact of seed dispersal by mammals on the fate of seeds from a common Annonaceae species in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. I experimentally evaluated three hypotheses: 1) that seeds experimentally placed within mammal dung have higher survivorship than control (bare) seeds; 2) that seeds in higher density clumps (25 as opposed to 5) suffer a higher mortality rate; and 3) that mortality rates decrease with distance from nearest adult conspecific. Seeds dispersed in high density piles (25 seeds) actually had a higher survival rate than seeds dispersed in low density (5 seed) piles. Additionally, seeds embedded in dung had the highest survival rate and distance from nearest adult conspecific had little effect on the survival of seeds through germination. Scolytinae beetles caused the most seed mortality, which differs from many other studies where rodents were the main seed predators. Understanding natural forest regeneration patterns is crucial for implementing successful forest restoration projects. More research over larger spatial and temporal scales is needed to elucidate the complicated processes underlying the fate of seeds in tropical forests.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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