Effect of logging on rodent scatter-hoarding dynamics in tropical forests: implications for plant recruitment

The present study tested the hypothesis that logging affects the scatter-hoarding behavior of rodents, which, in turn, negatively affects the quantity and quality of Pouteria campechiana (Sapotaceae) seed dispersal. A series of seed stations was established in logged and unlogged forests of ejido Señor, Yucatan Peninsula, and comparisons were made between logged and unlogged forests in terms of: (i) seed removal; (ii) number of seeds hoarded; (iii) hoarding distance; and (iv) the number of recruits and the survival of hoarded seeds. The number of both hoarded and removed seeds was significantly higher in unlogged sites. Furthermore, the mean distance of hoarding was greater in unlogged compared with logged sites. Although recruitment and survival were present in both logged and unlogged sites, there were more surviving seedlings in unlogged sites. The data indicate that both the quantity and quality of seed dispersal are negatively affected by logging because of a change in the rodent scatter-hoarding dynamics. These changes suggest that plant-animal interactions are crucial to the understanding of the ecology and conservation of managed tropical forests.