DOI: 10.5061/dryad.3c4n8nc
title: Data from: The timing of frugivore-mediated seed dispersal effectiveness

description: The seed dispersal effectiveness framework allows assessing mutualistic
 services from frugivorous animals in terms of quantity and quality.
 Quantity accounts for the number of seeds dispersed and quality for the
 probability of recruitment of dispersed seeds. Research on this topic has
 largely focused on the spatial patterns of seed deposition because seed
 fates often vary between microhabitats due to differences in biotic and
 abiotic factors. However, the temporal dimension has remained completely
 overlooked despite these factors – and even local disperser assemblages –
 can change dramatically during long fruiting periods. Here, we test timing
 effects on seed dispersal effectiveness, using as study case a keystone
 shrub species dispersed by frugivorous birds and with a fruiting period of
 nine months. We evaluated quantity and quality in different microhabitats
 of a Mediterranean forest and different periods of the fruiting
 phenophase. We identified the bird species responsible for seed deposition
 through DNA barcoding and evaluated the probability of seedling
 recruitment through a series of field experiments on sequential
 demographic processes. We found that timing matters: the disperser
 assemblage was temporally structured, seed viability decreased markedly
 during the plant’s fruiting phenophase, and germination was lower for
 viable seeds dispersed in the fruiting peak. We show how small
 contributions to seed deposition by transient migratory species can result
 in a relevant effectiveness if they disperse seeds in a high-quality
 period for seedling recruitment. This study expands our understanding of
 seed dispersal effectiveness, highlighting the importance of timing and
 infrequent interactions for population and community dynamics.
description: seed_rain_pistaciaData on the magnitude of seed rain in seed traps placed in different microhabitat types and in each of the study periods (early, mid and late) of the 2014–2015 fruiting season of Pistacia lentiscus (FIGURE 2a).viability_seeds_fruitsData on the viability test (‘flotation/sink’ method) conducted on depulped seeds from Pistacia lentiscus ripe (black) fruits (Figure S3 in Supplementary Material).seed_predation_pistaciaData on the seed predation experiment (FIGURE 3b). Each row corresponds to an individual Pistacia lentiscus seed within a seed depot.sowing_experiment_pistaciaData on the sowing experiment of Pistacia lentiscus seeds to assess seed germination (FIGURE 3c) and seedling survival (FIGURE 3d). Each row corresponds to an individual Pistacia lentiscus seed within a sowing station.timing_sde_pistaciaMean values of multiple demographic processes used to calculate the quantity (QT) and (QL) components of seed dispersal effectiveness (SDE) for different bird species groups contributing to seed dispersal in different periods and microhabitat types (FIGURE 4).seeds_pistacia_barcoding_viabilityData on the Pistacia lentiscus seeds sampled for DNA barcoding analyses, which includes the bird species responsible for dispersal (FIGURE 2b) and the outcome of the viability test (FIGURE 3a).