New paper out in Oecologia!

Check out our new paper in Oecologia on the impact of an invasive slug on seed dispersal mutualisms. In eastern North American forests, the invasive slug, Arion subfuscus, disrupts seed dispersal of understory forbs by ants. Slugs steal the food reward (eliaosome) that seeds provide ants in return for dispersal. This research was lead by Shannon Meadley-Dunphy, a graduate student, in the Frederickson lab. Camera shots below show slugs, ants, and rodents visiting wild ginger seeds.