Data from: Habitat use and seed removal by invasive rats (Rattus rattus) in disturbed and undisturbed rainforest, Puerto Rico
Despite frequent occurrences of invasive rats (Rattus spp.) on islands, their known effects on forests are limited. Where invasive rats have been studied, they generally have significant negative impacts on native plants, birds, and other animals. This study aimed to determine invasive rat distribut...
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ftdryad:oai:v1.datadryad.org:10255/dryad.207717 2023-05-15T18:05:35+02:00 Data from: Habitat use and seed removal by invasive rats (Rattus rattus) in disturbed and undisturbed rainforest, Puerto Rico Shiels, Aaron B. Ramírez de Arellano, Gabriela E. Puerto Rico Holocene 2019-02-20T19:04:14Z http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.207717 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.tf806g8 unknown doi:10.5061/dryad.tf806g8/1 doi:10.1111/btp.12640 doi:10.5061/dryad.tf806g8 Shiels AB, Ramírez de Arellano GE (2019) Habitat use and seed removal by invasive rats (Rattus rattus) in disturbed and undisturbed rain forest, Puerto Rico. Biotropica. http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.207717 forest gaps ground and understory foraging invasive species Luquillo Experimental Forest montane forest native tree vulnerability pre-hurricane frugivory rodent seed predation Article 2019 ftdryad https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.tf806g8 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.tf806g8/1 https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12640 2020-01-01T16:23:58Z Despite frequent occurrences of invasive rats (Rattus spp.) on islands, their known effects on forests are limited. Where invasive rats have been studied, they generally have significant negative impacts on native plants, birds, and other animals. This study aimed to determine invasive rat distribution and effects on native plant populations via short-term seed removal trials in tropical rain forest habitats in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. To address the first objective, we used tracking tunnels (inked and baited cards inside tunnels enabling animal visitors’ foot prints to be identified) placed on the ground and in the lower canopy within disturbed (treefall gaps, hurricane plots, stream edges) and undisturbed (continuous forest) habitats. We found that rats are present in all habitats tested. Secondly, we compared seed removal of four native tree species (Guarea guidonia, Buchenavia capitata, Tetragastris balsamifera, and Prestoea acuminata) between vertebrate-excluded and free-access treatments in the same disturbed and undisturbed habitats. Trail cameras were used to identify animals responsible for seed contact and removal. Black rats (R. rattus) were responsible for 65.1% of the interactions with seeds, of which 28.6% were confirmed seed removals. Two plant species had significantly more seeds removed in disturbed (gaps) than undisturbed forest. Prestoea acuminata had the lowest seed removal (9% in 10 d), whereas all other species had >30% removal. Black rats are likely influencing fates of seeds on the forest floor, and possibly forest community composition, through dispersal or predation. Further understanding of rat-plant interactions may be useful for formulating conservation strategies. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus Dryad Digital Repository (Duke University) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Dryad Digital Repository (Duke University) |
op_collection_id |
ftdryad |
language |
unknown |
topic |
forest gaps ground and understory foraging invasive species Luquillo Experimental Forest montane forest native tree vulnerability pre-hurricane frugivory rodent seed predation |
spellingShingle |
forest gaps ground and understory foraging invasive species Luquillo Experimental Forest montane forest native tree vulnerability pre-hurricane frugivory rodent seed predation Shiels, Aaron B. Ramírez de Arellano, Gabriela E. Data from: Habitat use and seed removal by invasive rats (Rattus rattus) in disturbed and undisturbed rainforest, Puerto Rico |
topic_facet |
forest gaps ground and understory foraging invasive species Luquillo Experimental Forest montane forest native tree vulnerability pre-hurricane frugivory rodent seed predation |
description |
Despite frequent occurrences of invasive rats (Rattus spp.) on islands, their known effects on forests are limited. Where invasive rats have been studied, they generally have significant negative impacts on native plants, birds, and other animals. This study aimed to determine invasive rat distribution and effects on native plant populations via short-term seed removal trials in tropical rain forest habitats in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. To address the first objective, we used tracking tunnels (inked and baited cards inside tunnels enabling animal visitors’ foot prints to be identified) placed on the ground and in the lower canopy within disturbed (treefall gaps, hurricane plots, stream edges) and undisturbed (continuous forest) habitats. We found that rats are present in all habitats tested. Secondly, we compared seed removal of four native tree species (Guarea guidonia, Buchenavia capitata, Tetragastris balsamifera, and Prestoea acuminata) between vertebrate-excluded and free-access treatments in the same disturbed and undisturbed habitats. Trail cameras were used to identify animals responsible for seed contact and removal. Black rats (R. rattus) were responsible for 65.1% of the interactions with seeds, of which 28.6% were confirmed seed removals. Two plant species had significantly more seeds removed in disturbed (gaps) than undisturbed forest. Prestoea acuminata had the lowest seed removal (9% in 10 d), whereas all other species had >30% removal. Black rats are likely influencing fates of seeds on the forest floor, and possibly forest community composition, through dispersal or predation. Further understanding of rat-plant interactions may be useful for formulating conservation strategies. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Shiels, Aaron B. Ramírez de Arellano, Gabriela E. |
author_facet |
Shiels, Aaron B. Ramírez de Arellano, Gabriela E. |
author_sort |
Shiels, Aaron B. |
title |
Data from: Habitat use and seed removal by invasive rats (Rattus rattus) in disturbed and undisturbed rainforest, Puerto Rico |
title_short |
Data from: Habitat use and seed removal by invasive rats (Rattus rattus) in disturbed and undisturbed rainforest, Puerto Rico |
title_full |
Data from: Habitat use and seed removal by invasive rats (Rattus rattus) in disturbed and undisturbed rainforest, Puerto Rico |
title_fullStr |
Data from: Habitat use and seed removal by invasive rats (Rattus rattus) in disturbed and undisturbed rainforest, Puerto Rico |
title_full_unstemmed |
Data from: Habitat use and seed removal by invasive rats (Rattus rattus) in disturbed and undisturbed rainforest, Puerto Rico |
title_sort |
data from: habitat use and seed removal by invasive rats (rattus rattus) in disturbed and undisturbed rainforest, puerto rico |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.207717 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.tf806g8 |
op_coverage |
Puerto Rico Holocene |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_relation |
doi:10.5061/dryad.tf806g8/1 doi:10.1111/btp.12640 doi:10.5061/dryad.tf806g8 Shiels AB, Ramírez de Arellano GE (2019) Habitat use and seed removal by invasive rats (Rattus rattus) in disturbed and undisturbed rain forest, Puerto Rico. Biotropica. http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.207717 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.tf806g8 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.tf806g8/1 https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12640 |
_version_ |
1766177076321189888 |