Response of avian and mammal seed dispersal networks to human induced forest edges in a sub-humid tropical forest

These data sets were used in the paper: Chaves, P. et al. (2020) Response of avian and mammal seed dispersal networks to human induced forest edges in a sub-humid tropical forest. Please, refer to it for further details and cite if using these data sets.

Data was collected from two forest remnants Lauchande (11º14'43.7" N, 15º03'24.2" W) and Madina (11°12'23.8" N 15°02'18.8" W) within the Cantanhez National Park (Guinea Bissau) (10°55’–12°45’ N, 13°37’–16°43’ W).

At each site, we sampled two forested habitats, mature forest and forest edge. Within each habitat, ca. 2.5 Km-long transects were mapped, totalling five edge and five mature forest transects. To account for plant furgivore interactions, focal observations were performed on trees with ripe fruits and high visibility.
All animal visitors were recorded using binoculars. Every new arrival or departure of a visitor restarted the clock to a 1h maximum. If no interaction was detected for a period of 15 minutes, the session would end. Each transect was covered during two four-hour periods, one starting at sunrise and one late in the afternoon until sunset. Ocasional observations were also included.

The matrices presented here, were compiled for each forested habitat, with animals as columns and trees as rows. Interaction frequency was defined as the number of fruit-eating events, or if an animal left the focal tree carrying fruits.