Occurrence of rainforest trees and their mammal and bird visitors from a seed predation experiment, Valparai Plateau, Western Ghats, India (2020)

The four focal tree species — Acronychia pedunculata, Cullenia exarillata, Ormosia travancorica, and Syzygium rubicundum — are mid-elevation tropical rainforest trees whose seeds are consumed by mammals to varying degrees.

Individual fruiting trees were selected as focal trees in three rainforest fragments (Akkamalai-Iyerpadi, Andiparai, Iyerpadi-Top, Old-Valparai, Puthuthottam; area 30–100 ha) and in contiguous forest within the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. Camera traps placed at seed plots near and far from each focal tree recorded visiting mammals and birds (748 detections), and additional mammal and bird occurrences were recorded as ad-hoc observations (31 records).