Collaborative Research: What is the Fate of a Silent Forest? The Importance of Avian Seed Dispersal and Herbivore Control for Tropical Forest Community Structure

森林中的鸟类吃昆虫和水果，并在整个森林中移动种子（种子传播），但这些行为对森林结构有多重要？ 这项研究在关岛（那里没有鸟类，因为非本地的棕色树蛇已经消灭了它们）和附近的罗塔岛，天宁岛和塞班岛（还有本地鸟类）解决了这个问题。 该研究使用实验和观察来确定鸟类对种子传播和害虫控制（即减少食草昆虫）的重要性，这些树种在种子大小，种子传播方式和生长速度等特征方面各不相同。 这项研究解决了基本的生态问题，包括种子传播是否对树种多样性很重要，鸟类是否控制森林昆虫种群。 如果鸟类对健康森林的运作至关重要，那么目前全球鸟类数量的减少可能会导致全球森林的崩溃。 这项研究也很重要，因为昆虫是森林的最大害虫，每年为全球经济提供数十亿美元。 因此，这项工作的结果将为从地方到全球范围的管理提供信息。最后，几个教育方案将针对当地的太平洋岛民高中和大学生。

Birds in forests eat insects and fruit, and move seeds throughout the forest (seed dispersal), but how important are these actions for forest structure? The research addresses this question on the island of Guam (where birds are absent because the non-native brown tree snake has eliminated them) and the nearby islands of Rota, Tinian and Saipan (with native birds remaining). The research uses experiments and observations to determine the importance of birds for seed dispersal and pest control (i.e. reduction of plant-eating insects) for ten common tree species that vary in characteristics such as seed size, manner in which seeds are dispersed, and growth rate. The research addresses basic ecological questions, including whether seed dispersal is important for tree species diversity and whether birds control forest insect populations. If birds are critical to the functioning of a healthy forest, then the current global decline in birds may lead to the breakdown of forests worldwide. This research is additionally important because insects are the largest pests to working forests, which provide billions of dollars to the global economy each year. Thus, the results from this work will inform management from local to global scales. Finally, several educational programs will target local Pacific Islander high school and college students.