DOI: 10.5061/dryad.v41ns1s8k
title: Data from: Community-wide epizoochorous interactions revealed from roadkilled mammals

description: This dataset contains records of roadkilled mammals collected  in
 To Japan. For each individual, species, sex, body weight, and the presence
 of externally attached seeds were recorded. The data were collected to
 investigate seasonal variation in epizoochorous seed dispersal by mammals.
 This dataset can be used to explore ecological interactions between
 roadkilled animals and plant seed dispersal, with implications for
 understanding dispersal dynamics in fragmented landscapes. A lack of
 information persists on external seed dispersal interactions, despite the
 rich diversity of potential dispersers. Roadkills offer a unique
 opportunity to obtain ecological data directly from carcasses. For 18
 years, we collected road-killed mammals in Toyama (Japan) and screened
 them for seed attachment. We then illustrated species interactions,
 quantified the number of plant species and seeds individual roadkill
 carried, and evaluated seasonal variations in the probability of seed
 attachment. We identified nine mammal species dispersing seeds from 16
 distinct plant taxa. Most importantly, medium-sized mammals (1.5–10.0 kg)
 accounted for approximately 88% of roadkill carrying seeds, with raccoon
 dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) dispersing the most seeds. Likely due to
 seed-set phenology, we showed a significant increase in seed prevalence
 for roadkills occurring in autumn. We advocate for future studies in
 epizoochory to focus on potential animal dispersers community wide.
description: # Data from: Community-wide epizoochorous interactions revealed from
 roadkilled mammals Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.v41ns1s8k](10.5061/dryad.v41ns1s8k) ## Description of the
 data and file structure The data were collected as part of a research
 investigating the plant-mammal interactions in epizoochorous seed
 dispersal from roadkills. ### Files and variables #### File:
 AllRoadkill.csv **Description:** This dataset includes information on all
 roadkill individuals examined in the research. ##### Variables * ID: The
 identification number assigned to each roadkill individual. * Species:
 Mammal species of the roadkill. * Year: The year in which the roadkill was
 collected. * Month: The month in which the roadkill was collected. *
 Day: The day on which the roadkill was collected. #### File:
 SeedsRK_script_revised.R **Description:** The R script which was used to
 conduct statistical analyses and visualization. #### File:
 SeedsRoadkill.csv **Description:** This dataset includes information of
 seeds attached to examined roadkills. ##### Variables * ID:  The
 identification number assigned to each roadkill individual. This ID
 corresponds to the same ID used in AllRoadkill.csv. * Year: The year in
 which the roadkill was collected. * Month:The month in which the roadkill
 was collected. * Day: The day in which the roadkill was collected. *
 Species: Mammal species of the roadkill. * Achyranthes_bidentata: The
 number of seeds attached to the roadkill by plant species. *
 Desmodium_podocarpum: The number of seeds attached to the roadkill by
 plant species. * Circaea_mollis: The number of seeds attached to the
 roadkill by plant species. * Sanicula_chinensis: The number of seeds
 attached to the roadkill by plant species. * Agrimonia_pilosa: The number
 of seeds attached to the roadkill by plant species. * Miscanthus_sinensis:
 The number of seeds attached to the roadkill by plant species. *
 Torilis_japonica: The number of seeds attached to the roadkill by plant
 species. * Bidens_frondosa: The number of seeds attached to the roadkill
 by plant species. * Oplismenus_undulatifolious: The number of seeds
 attached to the roadkill by plant species. * Persicaria_filiformis: The
 number of seeds attached to the roadkill by plant species. *
 Osmorhiza_aristata: The number of seeds attached to the roadkill by plant
 species. * Pennisetum_alopecuroides: The number of seeds attached to the
 roadkill by plant species. * Angelica_spp: The number of seeds attached to
 the roadkill by plant species. * unknown1: The number of seeds attached to
 the roadkill by plant species. * unknown2: The number of seeds attached to
 the roadkill by plant species. * unknown3: The number of seeds attached to
 the roadkill by plant species. * TotalSeeds: The total number of seeds
 attached to the roadkill. * TotalSpecies: The total number of seed species
 attached to the roadkill. ## Code/software We used R version 4.5.1 (R Core
 Team, 2025) to analyze the data. The following R packages were loaded:
 dplyr, tidyr, readr, openxlsx for data manipulation, bipartite and ggplot2
 for plotting. The analysis scripts are included in the submission and can
 be run in sequence to reproduce the results.