Given the grand scale of the experiment, the work was not without difficulties. "We collected thousands and thousands of defecations from birds, and it takes a lot of time to go through them all," Tewksbury said. The resulting data revealed that significantly more droppings containing wax myrtle and holly seeds were carried from the central patches to the connected patches than to the unconnected patches. This indicated that more birds were flying between the connected patches than the unconnected ones. "There was almost double the (center patch's) droppings in the connected receiver patches versus the unconnected patches," Levey said.
The findings may go well beyond pollination and seed dispersal. When plants have more pollen, they produce more fruit, attracting more birds, which distribute more seeds, which attract more birds and seed-eating animals, and so on. So although the experiment tested only two processes, it suggests that corridors can be beneficial in the much larger biological community.
"Our study suggests that these corridors do help in connecting populations, and theoretically they should help sustain networks of populations existing in increasingly fragmented landscapes," Tewksbury said.
The research team also included zoologists Nick Haddad, of North Carolina State University, Brent Danielson of Iowa State University, Sarah Sargent of Allegheny College in Pennsylvania and numerous graduate students.
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Contact: Josh Tewksbury
jtewksbury@zoo.ufl.edu
803-725-1769
University of Florida
16-Sep-2002