Effects of Animals on Dispersed Seeds 



From the time seeds are disseminated in the fall until they germinate the following 

 spring they are available to a variety of mammals, birds, and invertebrates. To deter- 

 mine seed consumption during this 8-month period, the number of filled seeds remaining 

 in the duff at the time of germination was subtracted from the number of filled seeds 

 that fell. The amount of seedfall was determined from contents of seed traps, each of 

 which had a surface area of 10.9 square feet. Duff samples adjacent to, and the same 

 size as, the seed traps were removed to mineral soil in May each year, where the tree 

 seeds were removed. This was accomplished by use of: 20 seed trap locations at Bluesky 

 from 1948-1953 (except for 1952); five locations each at Dunn and Butler in 1951; 10 

 locations each at Dunn and Butler in 1953; and 10 locations at Dunn in 1954. Bluesky 

 and Dunn had been partially cut but there had been no cutting at Butler. 



To determine the species composition and relative abundance of the principal seed- 

 eating mammals, the Bluesky area was snap-trapped for three nights twice annual ly--in 

 the fall and in the spring--from 1948 to 1954. Common snap traps (using ponderosa pine 

 seed, bacon, and rolled oats as bait) were set in groups of three at 20 stations in 

 each of three rows. Stations were 25 feet apart. Feeding preferences of the small 

 mammals were determined by Adams (1950) with stomach examinations. 



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