9628956 Gorchov This Americas Program award will support a dissertation enhancement project by Mr. Evan M. Notman, Miami University, on the investigation of the influence of seed characters on seed predation in a Peruvian lowland tropical forest. He will work under the direction of Dr. David L. Gorchov. This study will investigate levels of post-dispersal seed predation for a variety of tropical rain forest tree species, and relate observed differences in seed predation among species to seed characteristics. Because other factors such as abiotic conditions and predator abundances may also affect seed predation, Notman will do comparisons on the influence of seed characters on levels of seed predation across forests of three different ages and between invertebrate and vertebrate seed predators. It is important to understand this influence in order to understand how interactions between plants, animals, and abiotic conditions affect forest regeneration. The results obtained will be useful for forest management by improving predictions about the impact of seed predation on regeneration under diverse conditions. ***
