Dynamics of Tropical Forest Seed Banks: Seed Predators as Determinants of Community Structure and Plant-Frugivore Coevolution

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In tropical forests, most colonization of small disturbed areas (e.g., treefall gaps) is from dormant seeds deposited by animals in intact forest some time before the disturbance occurs. Such seeds become incorporated into the soil, and germinate in response to a later disturbance. These "soil seed banks" have profound consequences for such "pioneer" plants and the communities in which they occur. Species composition in regenerating patches is largely determined by the composition of the seed bank at the time of disturbance, for example. Nevertheless, virtually nothing is known about the dynamics of seed banks, especially rates of seed removal by predators and pathogens, physiologically-imposed limits to longevity, etc.. This study will make use of carefully replicated experiments to measure rates of seed arrival, transition from litter to soil, and removal in order to understand the dynamics of soil seed banks in detail. I will then examine the consequences of seed demography for community structure in regenerating forest patches, as well as for the evolution of ripening phenologies and plant-disperser relationships. The data gathered in this project is basic to understanding natural forest regeneration , and to efforts to preserve or restore species-rich tropical forests.