Because plants are literally rooted in place, dispersal to new locations is a major challenge. Many plants rely on animals to disperse their seeds. Their fruits and seeds are consumed by animals, who defecate their seeds elsewhere. It follows that animal seed dispersers should be important for fruiting plants and it's puzzling that they appear not to be, at least from an evolutionary standpoint. In particular, evolutionary biologists can find little hard evidence that seed dispersers "matter" to plants. The proposed study is based on the premise that this discrepancy between what "should" be and what appears to be is one of methodology -- whether seed dispersal "matters" depends largely on how one goes about looking for its imprint. The hypothesis to be tested is that plant species dispersed by different types of fruit-eating animals have evolved different types of fruits ("syndromes").
The project is developed in partnership with a conservation organization (WCS) and features the mentoring of PNG students. Students will be encouraged to pursue independent research projects. Further, by hiring local assistants and providing funds to work in collectively owned forests, the project will encourage conservation of those forests. Finally, partnerships will be fostered with senior scientists in PNG, facilitating international collaboration. In the U.S., outreach will focus on middle school students from under-privileged backgrounds, via involvement with an NSF GK-12 program. As a Hispanic female, the graduate researcher can be an effective role model.
