PARENT SESSION
Poster Session # 15: Plant Ecology.

Wednesday, August 6 Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. SITCC Exhibit Hall B.

Small mammal predation of flowering dogwood seeds: the influence of seed density and leaf litter.

Sacchi, Christopher¹, ¹ Department of Biology, Kutztown, PA

ABSTRACT- A putative benefit of seed dispersal is decreased seed predation resulting from a reduced likelihood of detection of seeds by seed predators at reduced densities away from the parent plant. I studied, experimentally, the influence of seed density on predation of flowering dogwood, Cornus florida, seeds by small mammals, squirrels, or birds over a one month period during the fall. Additionally, I studied the influence of leaf litter on seed predation. Use of bird and squirrel exclosures indicated that seed predation by small mammals, likely the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, was high at all seed densities. Added leaf cover provided protection to seeds suggested by lower predation rates in litter addition treatments. Reduction of seed density did not lead to large decreases in predation rates but increased leaf litter did permit an increased likelihood of seeds escaping predation. Increased seed survival through escape from predation was not an obvious benefit of seed dispersal for flowering dogwood seeds.

Key words: seed dispersal, Cornus florida, seed predation, density