Data from: The effect of feeding time on dispersal of Virola seeds by toucans determined from GPS tracking and accelerometers

Kays, Roland; Jansen, Patrick A.; Knecht, Elise M.H.; Wikelski, Martin; Vohwinkel, Reinhard

Data from: The effect of feeding time on dispersal of Virola seeds by toucans determined from GPS tracking and accelerometers

Files

Toucan.csv (48.1 MB)
: dataset-file

Toucan-metadata.csv (360 B): dataset-file

Date

2012-03-20

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.62r58302

Authors

Citation

Kays R, Jansen PA, Knecht EMH, Wikelski M, Vohwinkel R. 2012. Data from: The effect of feeding time on dispersal of Virola seeds by toucans determined from GPS tracking and accelerometers. Movebank Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.62r58302

Abstract

NOTE: A corrected version of this dataset is available. See doi:10.5441/001/1.f32gn841. ABSTRACT: Seed dispersal is critical to understanding forest dynamics but is hard to study because tracking seeds is difficult. Even for the best-studied dispersal system of the Neotropics, Virola nobilis, the dispersal kernel remains unknown. We combined high-resolution GPS/3D-acceleration bird tracking, seed-retention experiments, and field observations to quantify dispersal of V. nobilis by their principal dispersers, Ramphastos toucans. We inferred feeding events from movement data, and then estimated spatio-temporally explicit seed-dispersal kernels. Wild toucans moved an average of 1.8 km d−1 with two distinct activity peaks. Seed retention time in captive toucans averaged 25.5 min (range 4–98 min). Estimated seed dispersal distance averaged 144 ± 147 m, with a 56% likelihood of dispersal >100 m, two times further than the behaviour-naive estimate from the same data. Dispersal was furthest for seeds ingested in the morning, and increased with seed retention time, but only up to 60 min after feeding. Our study supports the long-standing hypothesis that toucans are excellent dispersers of Virola seeds. To maximize seed dispersal distances trees should ripen fruit in the morning when birds move the most, and produce fruits with gut-processing times around 60 min. Our study demonstrates how new tracking technology can yield nuanced seed dispersal kernels for animals that cannot be directly observed.

Keywords

Ramphastos sulfuratus,regurgitation time,GPS tracking,accelerometer,tropical forests

Taxa

Taxon

Ramphastos sulfuratus

Keel-billed Toucan

Sensors

Sensor

GPS

DOIs of related Publications

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2011.06.007

URI

https://datarepository.movebank.org/handle/10255/move.272

BibTex

@misc{001/1_62r58302,
  title = {Data from: The effect of feeding time on dispersal of Virola seeds by toucans determined from GPS tracking and accelerometers},
  author = {Kays, R and Jansen, PA and Knecht, EMH and Wikelski, M and Vohwinkel, R},
  year = {2012},
  URL = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.62r58302},
  doi = {doi:10.5441/001/1.62r58302},
  publisher = {Movebank data repository}
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
ID  - doi:10.5441/001/1.62r58302
T1  - Data from: The effect of feeding time on dispersal of Virola seeds by toucans determined from GPS tracking and accelerometers
AU  - Kays, Roland
AU  - Jansen, Patrick A.
AU  - Knecht, Elise M.H.
AU  - Wikelski, Martin
AU  - Vohwinkel, Reinhard
Y1  - 2012/03/20
KW  - Ramphastos sulfuratus
KW  - seed dispersal kernel
KW  - regurgitation time
KW  - GPS tracking
KW  - accelerometer
KW  - tropical forests
KW  - Ramphastos sulfuratus
PB  - Movebank data repository
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.62r58302
DO  - doi:10.5441/001/1.62r58302
ER  -

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