Data and code from: Seed dispersal and seed predation networks highlight important dual roles for plants and vertebrates in a tropical forest

The dispersal and predation of seeds by animals are important, and
inextricably linked, drivers of plant species diversity and ecosystem
stability. Within tropical forests, these interactions involve diverse
vertebrate communities with the same species often contributing to both
processes. Yet, multi-level interactions are rarely examined at
community-scales, limiting our ability to identify the most important
species driving plant recruitment – a crucial aspect of demographic
dynamics. Here, we build a multi-layered network of vertebrate seed
dispersal and seed predation interactions from a tropical forest in
Thailand, to identify important interactors and assess the plant and
animal traits that influence species’ roles. The dataset encompassed
interactions between 36 plant and 25 ground-foraging vertebrate species
observed in camera-traps (>1000 camera-trap days). Over half the
plant and animal species were involved in both dispersal and predation,
with the dispersal network involving more species than the predation
network. Four of six animal species that were major interactors had dual
roles and two were seed predators, indicating that analyses of networks in
isolation would incompletely reflect their importance in plant
recruitment. Abundance was positively associated with species’ roles
(degree, species strength) for plants and animals in the seed dispersal
network but not the predation network; none of the size traits (fruit/seed
size; body mass) nor seed hardness were related to species’ roles. Plant
multi-layer versatility, a measure of relative importance within and
between interaction types, was not correlated with any measured traits,
suggesting that more complex trait associations define versatility. In
conclusion, the most important species for influencing patterns of plant
recruitment are more accurately identified by measuring roles across
multiple levels, because of the dual involvement of plant and animal
species in both seed dispersal and predation. However, a broader range of
traits that might determine these roles needs to be studied. This Dryad
repository contains all the data and code necessary to reproduce the
analyses and figures in the study. A Read Me file containing a description
of all the contents of this repository, usage notes and outputs is
provided.