| Ecosystems are maintained by the interaction of
many different species and processes, from the climate
to the activities of the animals that inhabit them.
This project focuses on seed dispersal by frugivores
(fruit eating animals).
By eating fruit, passing the seeds without killing
them, or by carrying seeds in hands or mouth, frugivores
can move seeds a wide variety of distances from the
original plant. Seed dispersal is one of the most influential
ecosystem processes. Its impacts are felt at the level
of individual plant, in the structure and dynamics of
entire plant communities, and in associated animal communities.
This project will address a number of important questions
relating to seed dispersal:
- How will the decline or loss of threatened frugivores
(e.g. cassowaries) affect the process of seed dispersal
and the long term persistence of the forests?
- How do general animal populations and behaviour
change with changes in landscape context and how does
this affect the process of seed dispersal and subsequently
the long-term maintenance of plant communities?
- How do animal movement patterns and feeding behaviour
affect the spread of introduced weeds?
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| Rainforest Fruits |
Observing Frugivores |
To answer these questions the project covers a number
of important topics relating to seed dispersal, including:
- Assigning the animals into functional groups based
on animal behavior, diet and movement; fruit into
functional groups based on physical characteristics.
- Estimations of how many and how far seeds travel
from the plant for each functional fruit group and
each group of animals based on known interactions
between plants and animals.
- Estimation of the relative contribution and effectiveness
of different frugivores at dispersing the seeds of
the spectrum of fruit types.
- Estimation of the impact of animals that eat and
kill seeds on the overall distribution of viable seeds.
- Measuring the impact of landscape structure (continuous
versus fragmented landscapes) on animal populations,
behaviour and movements.
- Simulation modeling to predict the effect of the
loss or decline of frugivore species on seed dispersion
and, as a result, on vegetation persistence.
This project will lead to a better understanding of
the sustainability of conservation areas and fragmented
habitats through measuring and modeling the seed dispersal
process. This in turn will lead to improved management
of reserves and fragments and predict the consequences
of the absence of threatened seed-dispersing animals.
Models developed for this project will be extended
to simulate the spread of animal dispersed weeds.
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| Attaching a tracking collar |
Fruit eating bird |
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