Avian seed dispersal function is age dependent
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Animal species provide important ecosystem functions. However, how individuals within species differ in their contribution to ecosystem functions remains little explored. We investigated seed dispersal movements of 72 juvenile and adult spotted nutcrackers ( Nucifraga caryocatactes ), which are the sole seed dispersers of Swiss stone pine ( Pinus cembra ). We compared seed dispersal ranges, variability in hourly displacement, elevation of occurrence and the preferred seed caching elevation between juvenile and adult birds. Overall, juveniles had significantly larger seed dispersal ranges, higher variability in displacement and occurred and cached seeds at higher elevations than adults. Additionally, we investigated a subsample of nine individuals tracked over their first (juvenile) and their second (adult) year. From their first to their second year, birds significantly reduced their seed dispersal ranges but maintained similar hourly displacements and elevational occurrence, indicating ontogenetic shifts in their seed dispersal function. Our results suggest that juvenile spotted nutcrackers are of particular importance for pine seed dispersal, as they disperse seeds over large distances and occupy elevations that are favourable for pine regeneration under changing climate. Our study highlights the importance of age-effects when assessing the contribution of animals to ecosystem functions in current and future environments.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".