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Spreading seeds: How can a better understanding of seed dispersal improve tropical forest restoration?

Author(s): Christina N. Blebea, Francis H. Joyce

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Summary:
Learn about seed dispersal by animals and how this ecological process can be harnessed to facilitate forest recovery through a forest restoration experiment in Costa Rica. Apply what you learn to a restoration scenario at the tropical site of your…

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Learn about seed dispersal by animals and how this ecological process can be harnessed to facilitate forest recovery through a forest restoration experiment in Costa Rica. Apply what you learn to a restoration scenario at the tropical site of your choice

Licensed under CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International according to these terms

Version 1.0 - published on 24 May 2024 doi:10.25334/PDR9-A717 - cite this

Keywords

  1. conservation
  2. Restoration
  3. tropical forests
  4. biodiversity loss
  5. Seed dispersal

Alignments

  1. Resource Type
  2. Courses
  3. Course Level
  4. Vision and Change Core Concepts
  5. Four Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) Framework
  6. Class Type
  7. Class Size
  8. Audience
  9. Lesson Length
  10. Key Scientific Process Skills
  11. Pedagogical Approaches
  12. Principles of How People Learn
  13. Assessment Type
Contents:
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Description

Overview of Module:

  • Students will learn about seed dispersal as a mutualism in neotropical forest restoration. Students will explore primary and secondary seed dispersal, focusing on dispersal by birds, bats, rodents, and ants. To engage with the content, students will read, discuss, interpret data, and implement their knowledge through a cumulative activity. This module will aid students to understand important ecological concepts in an interactive, scaffolded, and dynamic way.
  • Who brings seeds to restoration plots in the tropics to create a new forest? Tropical forests are vital to our world's biodiversity and ecosystem processes, but these forests are threatened by disturbance. Many international initiatives are therefore calling for tropical forest restoration. Successful restoration begins with getting seeds in the ground followed by seed establishment. Animals can improve the efficacy of restoration by aiding in seed arrival and establishment. This module explores both primary and secondary seed dispersal in the context of neotropical forest restoration.

Learning Objectives:

  • Describe how seed dispersal by animals is a type of mutualism with costs and benefits to both the plant and dispersal agent(s)
  • Identify the main biological actors in neotropical forest seed dispersal and their role in primary and secondary dispersal
  • Recognize how seed dispersal is affected by anthropogenic impacts and shapes ecosystems recovery in secondary forests
  • Apply knowledge of seed dispersal agents and their effectiveness to a restoration scenario

 

Support was provided by: Grants from the United States National Science Foundation (DBI-RCN-UBE 2120141) and (DEB 20-16623).

 

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