Removal of Wind-Dispersed Pine Seeds by Ground-Foraging Vertebrates

Abstract

Nine treatments involving three species of pine (Jeffrey pine, Pinus jeffreyi ponderosa pine, P. ponderosa; and lodgepole pine, P. contorta) seeds were used to test five hypotheses concerning the determinants of seed removal by animals in the field. Each treatment comprised 100 seeds. Winged seeds were tethered so they could not be blown away. Seeds were checked daily for up to 16 d. Animals (primarily chipmunks) removed most seeds within a few days. Winged Jeffrey pine seeds (large) disappeared significantly faster than ponderosa pine seeds (medium) which disappeared faster than lodgepole pine seeds (small) (...)