Seed Dispersal Data for Three Wetland Plant Species

R code and data accompany a 2023 Functional Ecology manuscript investigating seed dispersal strategies. The dataset likely contains measurements of seed dispersal distance and inter-seed spread for three closely related plant species across seasonal wetland habitats. Courtney L. Van Den Elzen from the University of Colorado Boulder authored the study, which also includes wind tunnel and drop tube tests of seed traits.

Use Cases

• Compare seed dispersal strategies across species based on habitat variability mentioned in the description
• Analyze the relationship between seed traits (like pappus size) and dispersal distance referenced in the study
• Model intraspecific variation in dispersal based on maternal plant and seed traits discussed in the abstract
• Test ecological theory predicting dispersal adaptation to spatiotemporal environmental variation

Strengths

• Data is directly linked to a peer-reviewed manuscript published in Functional Ecology in 2023
• Includes both field observations in natural habitats and controlled laboratory measurements (wind tunnel, drop tube)
• Focuses on three closely related species, allowing for comparative analysis

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified

Provenance

Source

University of Colorado Boulder

Collection Method

Field tracking of individual seeds and laboratory experiments (wind tunnel, drop tube)

Geography

Seasonal wetland habitats (specific location not stated)