Cache Pilfering Risks Vary With Seed Species and Pilferers.

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Animal Behavior
• Botany

Background:

• Cache pilfering is common in seed-hoarding rodents.
• The impact of seed type and pilferer identity on cache pilfering at a community level is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the cache pilfering risk of Leopoldamys edwardsi.
• To examine the fate of pilfered seeds from Camellia oleifera and Castanopsis henryi.
• To understand how seed species and pilferer identity influence pilfering risk.

Main Methods:

• Experiments conducted in semi-natural enclosures.
• Observation of rodent behavior and cache pilfering.
• Inclusion of sympatric rodent species: Apodemus chevrieri, A. draco, Niviventer confucianus, and N. fulvescens.

Main Results:

• Leopoldamys edwardsi showed no preference between C. henryi and C. oleifera seeds.
• Pilferage rate of C. oleifera seeds was significantly higher.
• Cache pilfering risk varied significantly among rodent species, with scatter-hoarders causing most losses.
• Seed species substantially impacted cache pilfering risk.

Conclusions:

• Scatter-hoarding rodents selectively re-cached seeds based on species.
• This selective re-caching is crucial for secondary seed dispersal and plant regeneration.