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News Release 12-131
Thieving Rodents: Did They Save Tropical Trees?
Rodents may have taken over seed-dispersal role of now-extinct mammals
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A camera-trap caught this agouti in the act of stealing seeds from another's cache.
Credit: B.T. Hirsch
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Camera-traps were placed at caches to determine which animals moved tropical tree seeds.
Credit: B.T. Hirsch
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Miniature transmitters, attached to seeds with an antenna, tracked dispersal by agoutis.
Credit: B.T. Hirsch
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Rodents warned scientists of seed movement by pulling the transmitter off a magnet.
Credit: Patricia Kernan
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Radio-collars allowed researchers to follow agoutis across tropical forests in Panama.
Credit: Christian Ziegler
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Black palm seeds, once sown by extinct megafauna, are now sown by agoutis.
Credit: Christian Ziegler
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