Mass of seed removal

This data set is a result of an observational study conducted in a southern California, semi-arid shrubland (Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve, Jamul, CA). As a master's student in Biology/Ecology, I was interested in whether seed predators preferentially removed non-native over native seeds. Additionally (and most importantly), I evaluated whether field equipment intended to parse out relative patterns of seed removal between different taxa (birds, rodents, ants) were inhibiting the taxon of interest. More specifically, does the exclusion cage/PVC tube intended to permit access to rodents, but not rabbits and birds, inhibit visitation by rodents?<br><br>I deployed seed predation stations across 28 stations and three seasons (spring, fall, winter). Each seed station consisted of a dish open to all visitors ("open") and a dish accessible only to rodents and insects ("tube"). The latter dish was located inside a 1cm wire mesh cage with a PVC tube (bent at a 90-degree angle) as the only entrance. Each seed dish had a partition, separating a mixture of non-native and native seeds found across the site. In this data set, we measured the mass of seed removed from each side (native vs. non-native) of each dish (open vs. "tube"). Additionally, we deployed field cameras at all seed stations, observing the genus of visitor; this data set shows presence (1) and absence (0) of common genera observed for each 2-night trial at each station. <br><br>A separate data set contains data from the direct observation portion of this study. In that data set, you will find behavioral observations of all visitors to the seed stations.

本数据集源自美国加利福尼亚南部半干旱灌丛（加利福尼亚州哈穆尔牧场生态保护区，Jamul, CA）开展的一项观测研究。作为生物学/生态学专业的硕士研究生，笔者旨在探究种子捕食者是否更偏好取食外来种子而非本土种子。此外（亦是本次研究的核心重点），笔者还评估了用于厘清不同类群（鸟类、啮齿类、蚂蚁）间种子取食相对模式的野外设备，是否会对目标类群的活动造成干扰。更具体地说，专为允许啮齿类进入、阻挡兔类与鸟类的排除笼（exclusion cage）/PVC管，是否会抑制啮齿类的到访？

笔者在28个监测样点分春、秋、冬三个季节布设了种子取食监测站（seed predation stations）。每个种子取食监测站包含两类饲盘：一类为对所有访客开放的“开放饲盘”，另一类为仅允许啮齿类与昆虫进入的“管饲盘”。后者置于孔径1cm的铁丝网笼内，仅以一根弯折90度的PVC管作为唯一入口。每个饲盘均设有隔板，分隔该样点采集的本土与外来种子混合物。本数据集记录了每类饲盘（开放/管饲）两侧（本土/外来种子）被取食的种子质量。此外，笔者在所有种子取食监测站部署了野外相机，记录到访者的分类学属类；本数据集展示了每个监测站每2晚观测周期中，常见到访属类的出现（1）与未出现（0）情况。

另有一份独立数据集涵盖本研究的直接观测部分数据，其中包含所有到访种子取食监测站的访客的行为观测记录。