Post-dispersal seed predation in the temperate rainforest of southeast Alaska

Post-dispersal predation on seeds of vertebrate-dispersed plants (Rubus spe ctabilis, Oplopanax horridus, and Streptopus amplexifolius) of the temperat e rainforest of southeast Alaska was experimentally examined comparing "cle an" seeds with seeds embedded in feces of bears, important dispersers in th e area, and comparing also different microhabitats where seeds may be dropp ed or defecated. It was found that seed removal was significantly higher fo r clean seeds than for seeds within bear feces, and that levels of seed pre dation were similar for seeds under plants of the same species and for seed s under plants of other species. These results indicate that seed predators (presumably mostly rodents) use neither fecal material nor the presence of a conspecific plant as a clue to the location of seeds.