DISSERTATION RESEARCH: A Comparison of the Fates of Seeds and Seedlings in Hunted and Unhunted Tropical Forest Sites in Southern Belize

论文研究：伯利兹南部狩猎和未狩猎热带森林地区种子和幼苗命运的比较

• 批准号: 9623505
• 负责人: Marcel Rejmanek
• 金额: $ 0.98万
• 依托单位: University of California-Davis
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-07-01 至 1998-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9623505&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Comparison; Fates; Seeds

REJMANEK DEB-9623505 Whether or not humans indirectly affect forest regeneration by changing natural mammal densities is an unresolved problem. Neotropical mammals may exert a significant impact on tree regeneration in rainforests because they are key dispersers and predators of seeds. In many parts of the Neotropics, local hunters supplement their diet by killing medium-sized and large mammals, dramatically lowering their densities. Since different mammalian herbivores have different effects on the fates of seeds and seedlings, we expect that the rates of seed dispersal and predation and seedling recruitment of trees in hunted sites will be different from those in unhunted sites. Using exclosure experiments to separate the effects of different size classes of mammals, this project will address (1) whether or not different types of herbivorous mammals differentially affect tree seed fates and seedling survival and (2) whether or not the effects of these mammals differ between unhunted and hunted portions of a wet tropical forest. Addressing these issues will provide information about the efficacy of employing subsistence hunting as a long-term conservation tool in attempting to limit destruction of Neotropical forests.

人类是否通过改变自然哺乳动物密度间接影响森林再生是一个尚未解决的问题。 新热带区哺乳动物是种子的主要传播者和捕食者，因此对热带雨林树木的更新具有重要影响。 在新热带地区的许多地方，当地猎人通过捕杀中型和大型哺乳动物来补充他们的饮食，大大降低了他们的密度。 由于不同的哺乳动物食草动物对种子和幼苗的命运有不同的影响，我们预计，在狩猎网站的树木的种子传播和捕食和幼苗招聘率将不同于那些在unhunted网站。 利用围封实验来区分不同大小类哺乳动物的影响，该项目将解决（1）不同类型的草食性哺乳动物是否对树木种子命运和幼苗存活产生不同影响，以及（2）这些哺乳动物的影响是否在潮湿热带森林的未狩猎和狩猎部分之间存在差异。 解决这些问题将提供有关的有效性的资料，采用生存狩猎作为一种长期的保护工具，试图限制破坏新热带森林。