Studying the quantity component of seed dispersal effectiveness from exclosure treatments and camera trapping.

The quantity component of effectiveness of seed dispersal by animals is determined by two events: fruit removal (intensity of the interaction) and animal visitation to the plant (frequency of interactions). Considering dispersal of seeds as case study this work aimed at investigating the strengths and weaknesses of the two methods for assessing the quantity component of seed dispersal effectiveness: exclosures and camera traps. fruits were offered for 48 hr.

Management of Protected Areas and Its Effect on an Ecosystem Function: Removal of Prosopis flexuosa Seeds by Mammals in Argentinian Drylands.

The ecological function of animal seed dispersal depends on species interactions and can be affected by drivers such as the management interventions applied to protected areas. This study was conducted in two protected areas in the Monte Desert: a fenced reserve with grazing exclusion and absence of large native mammals (the Man and Biosphere Ñacuñán Reserve; FR) and an unfenced reserve with low densities of large native and domestic animals (Ischigualasto Park; UFR). The study focuses on Prosopis flexuosa seed removal by different functional mammal groups: "seed predators", "scatter-hoarders", and "opportunistic frugivores".