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.