Date of Award
5-2020
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Departmental Honors
Department
Biology
Abstract
Tropical vertebrate species have faced increasing pressures from hunters, causing many to become locally extinct. I used an agent-based model (NEDD) to investigate the influence of dispersal and insect seed predation on seedling survival. Statistical dispersal kernels were used to simulate the dispersal of seeds. The NEDD model generates survival and spatial data from parameter sets, which were chosen based on a Latin-Hypercube experimental design. Spatial point analysis was performed on the output data to identify trends in spatial clustering patterns as the parameter space was changed. The results of this investigation suggest that there is a positive association between the proportion of seeds that are distributed at a frugivore site and the successful recruitment of seeds. Increasing frequency of frugivore sites was shown to have a negative impact on seedling recruitment. Understanding the role of tropical vertebrates in mediating seed dispersal and survival may inform management decisions in the near future.
Recommended Citation
Tirrell, Justin, "Emergent Seedling Spatial Patterns Following Insect Seed Predation in a Simulated Population" (2020). Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects. 498.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/honors/498
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Faculty Mentor
Noelle Beckma