Dissertation Research:  Dispersal Distance, Deposition Site,and Survivorship of Cassowary-Dispersed Seeds
{'Code': '08010208', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Althea Ball', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
Zoochory is the predominant dispersal syndrome in most                     tropical forests.  Few studies directly address what selective                  advantages tropical plants gain from zoochory or what the                       demographic effects of frugivore-mediated seed dispersal are to                 tropical trees.  The paucity of empirical data on tropical                      zoochory after removal stems from the extreme difficulty of                     finding seeds where they have been deposited by frugivorous                     dispersers.  Seed dispersal by cassowaries is an ideal system for               study because cassowaries are specialist frugivores, virtually                  the sole disperser for many large-seeded trees and lianas, and                  are commonly found in the vast undisturbed forests of New Guinea.               Most importantly, their droppings which contain dispersed seeds                 are numerous and conspicuous at the study site.  Seeds will be                  marked with tags or small radio-transmitters before cassowaries                 disperse them.  Tagged seeds found in visual searches and                       transmitter-seeds found by radio tracking will reveal dispersal                 distances, including those seeds carried long distances.  Within-               dropping parameters (e.g.                                                       parameters (e.g. insolation) will be measured for every dropping                found.  Droppings will be monitored up to three years for                       germination, seedling growth, and survivorship.  The effects of                 within-dropping parameters and site parameters on germination,                  growth and survivorship of seedlings will be analyzed.  Data on                 dispersal distances, within-dropping parameters and site                        parameters will be pooled in probability matrices to test                       published hypotheses regarding the consequences of vertebrate                   mediated seed dispersal.  In the second half of the study the                   effects of dispersal will be experimentally examined.  Seeds                    voided by a captive cassowary to make "pseudo-droppings" to test                hypotheses based on observations of naturally-dispersed seeds                   will be used.
[{'FirstName': 'Theodore', 'LastName': 'Fleming', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'H', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Theodore H Fleming', 'EmailAddress': 'tfleming@fig.cox.miami.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000318083', 'StartDate': '07/01/1989', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}, {'FirstName': 'Andrew', 'LastName': 'Mack', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'L', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Andrew L Mack', 'EmailAddress': 'azm518@psu.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000212319', 'StartDate': '07/01/1989', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Co-Principal Investigator'}]
{'Name': 'University of Miami', 'CityName': 'CORAL GABLES', 'ZipCode': '331462919', 'PhoneNumber': '3052843924', 'StreetAddress': '1320 SOUTH DIXIE HIGHWAY STE 650', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Florida', 'StateCode': 'FL', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '27', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'FL27', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'RQMFJGDTQ5V3', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
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{'Code': '1128', 'Text': 'Population & Community Ecology'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1989&All=true', 'xml': '8900399.xml'}