Granivory in California sage scrub: implications for common plant invaders and ecosystem conservation

Data was collected to quantify the relative roles of California sage scrub granivores (ant, rodents, and birds) for seed removal using seed dish experiments and motion-sensor video observation. Further, we recorded seed removal for four common sage scrub plant species: small-seeded invasive mustard Brassica nigra, large seeded invasive grass Bromus rubens, native large-seeded shrub Encelia californica, and small-seeded native shrub Salvia apiana. The experiment was conducted at the Robert J. Bernard Field Station, a 35-hectare field station located in Claremont, California, from November 2017 to November 2018. A manuscript detailing the results from this study is under review (July 2021) in the journal Plant Ecology.