Rodents can be important in seed dispersal through their scatterhoarding behaviour, yet, the seed traits that are most influential in seed removal by Afrotropical scatterhoarding rodents remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of seed size and nutrient content of four seed species on the scatterhoarding behaviour of rodents in an Afromontane forest, Ngel Nyaki forest, Nigeria. To do this we marked with thread-tags the seeds of Santiria trimera, Beilschmedia mannii, Carapa oreophila and Anthonotha noldeae and observed their fate. We predicted that (1) caching frequency would be higher for larger than smaller seed species; (2) caching frequency would be higher for nutrient-rich than nutrient-poor seeds; (3) larger seeds would be taken across farther distances; and (4) survival of cached seeds would be higher for nutrient-rich seeds. In contrast to studies elsewhere we found no difference in caching probabilities based on seed size, although nutrient-rich (high fat content) seeds had a higher probability of being predated than seeds with lower fat content. Larger and smaller seeds were dispersed over the same distances and nutrient-poor (high fibre content) seeds survived longer in seed caches. Overall, our findings suggest that large, nutrient-rich seed species are less likely to be dispersed by rodents.

中文翻译：

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通过在西非山地森林中分散囤积啮齿动物，种子营养成分而不是大小影响种子传播

啮齿动物通过其分散囤积行为在种子传播中可能很重要，但是，对非洲热带分散囤积啮齿动物去除种子影响最大的种子特征仍不清楚。在这里，我们研究了四种种子种类的种子大小和营养成分对尼日利亚 Ngel Nyaki 森林 Afromontane 森林中啮齿动物分散囤积行为的影响。为此，我们用线程标签标记了种子三叶草,贝氏菌,菠菜和无花果并观察他们的命运。我们预测（1）较大的种子物种的缓存频率会高于较小的种子物种；(2) 营养丰富的种子比营养不良的种子的缓存频率更高；(3) 更大的种子将被带到更远的距离；(4) 营养丰富的种子贮藏种子的存活率更高。与其他地方的研究相比，我们发现基于种子大小的缓存概率没有差异，尽管营养丰富（高脂肪含量）的种子比脂肪含量低的种子更有可能被捕食。较大和较小的种子分散在相同的距离上，而营养不良（高纤维含量）的种子在种子库中存活的时间更长。总体而言，我们的研究结果表明，大型、营养丰富的种子物种不太可能被啮齿动物传播。