VARIATION IN POSTDISPERSAL SURVIVAL OF VERTEBRATE-DISPERSED SEEDS - EFFECTS OF DENSITY, HABITAT, LOCATION, SEASON, AND SPECIES

Large seed depots were more likely to be discovered by seed predators, but the probability of seed survival was nevertheless higher than in small seed depots. The magnitude of these effects, however, varied with all the other factors. Habitat effects (field vs forest) were significant, in general. The direction (but not the magnitude) of the effect was consistent in most locations, seasons, and species in Years 1 and 3, but in Year 2, the direction of the habitat effect was reversed. Location effects were consistently significant, but varied among years. Seasonal trends were highly variable; median values showed no significant trends. Large seeds were somewhat more at risk than small seeds (of different species), but this trend was variable, too. -from Authors