Scaling from Seedscapes to Ecosystems

B. Borah        and Beckman, N. G.*In press. Interaction rewiring can buffer the reduction of long-distance dispersal of seeds when large birds go extinct: An allometric perspective Oikos *Last author denotes senior author

Beckman, N. G., G. F. Schneider       , B. Borah       , and B. Harshbarger        In press. Seed dispersal by frugivores on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. In The First 100 Years of Research at Barro Colorado – Plant and Ecosystem Biology. H. C. Muller-Landau and S. J. Wright, editors. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press , Washington, D.C.

Schneider, G. F.       , E. M. Jos       , and N. G. Beckman*.   In press. The phytochemistry of tropical zoochorous fruit: mediating plant-frugivore interactions within biodiverse communities. In The First 100 Years of Research at Barro Colorado – Plant and Ecosystem Biology. H. C. Muller-Landau and S. J. Wright, editors. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press , Washington, D.C. *Last author denotes senior author

Borah, B.       and N. G. Beckman *. 2024. Impacts of habitat loss and fragmentation on seed dispersal by an Afrotropical bird community in an anthropogenic landscape: Insights from movement models. Biological Conservation 294: 110613. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110613 *Last author denotes senior author

Draper, J. P.      , J. K. Young, N. G. Beckman, and T. B. Atwood. 2024. The Differential Contribution of Coyotes and Passerines on Future Biotic Carbon Storage Through Juniper Seed Dispersal. Ecography. DOI: 10.1111/ecog.06958

Beckman, N. G. and L. L. Sullivan. 2023. The causes and consequences of seed dispersal. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. 54: 403-427. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-102320-104739

Borah, B.       and N. G. Beckman*. 2023. Bird movement patterns in an agricultural landscape are mediated by both habitat conditions and traits. Biotropica 55(5): 1069-1080. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13254 *Last author denotes senior author

Schneider, G. F.      , C. A. Carlson      , E. M. Jos      , and N. G. Beckman*. 2023. Compartmentalization of specialized metabolites across vegetative and reproductive tissues in two sympatric Psychotria (Rubiaceae). American Journal of Botany DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.16191 *Last author denotes senior author

Beckman, N. G., R. Dybzinksi, and D. Tilman. 2022. Short-term plant-soil feedback experiment fails to predict outcome of competition observed in long-term field experiment. Ecology104(2): e3883. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3883

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Borah, B.       , and N. G. Beckman*. 2022. Studying seed dispersal through the lens of movement ecology. Oikos 2022(2): e08310. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.08310 *Last author denotes senior author

Special Issue

Draper, J.P.       , J. K. Young, E. W. Schupp, N. G. Beckman, and T. B. Atwood. 2022 Frugivory and Seed Dispersal by Carnivorans. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution10: 864864. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.864864

Whitehead, S., G. Schneider       , R. Dybzinski, A. Nelson, M. Gelambi, E. Jos       , N. G. Beckman*. 2022. Fruits, frugivores, and the evolution of phytochemical diversity. Oikos 2022(2): e08332. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.08332 *Last author denotes co-lead

Special Issue

Draper, J. P.       , T. B. Atwood, N. G. Beckman, K. M. Kettenring, J. K. Young. 2021. Mesopredator frugivory has no effect on seed viability and emergence under experimental conditions. Ecosphere 12 (8): e03702. DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3702.

Freeman, J., J. M. Anderies, N. G. Beckman, E. Robinson, J. A. Baggio, D. Bird, C. Nicholson, J.B. Finley, J. M. Capriles, A.F. Gil, D. Byers, E. Gayo, & C. Latorre. 2021. Landscape engineering impacts the long-term stability of agricultural populations. Human Ecology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-021-00242-z

Beckman, N. G., C. E. Aslan, and H. R. Rogers. 2020. Introduction to Special Issue: The role of seed dispersal in plant populations: perspectives and advances in a changing world. AoB Plants 12 (2): plaa010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plaa010

Special Issue Editor's Choice

Beckman, N. G., C. E. Aslan, H. S. Rogers, O. Kogan, J. L. Bronstein, J. M. Bullock, F. Hartig, J. HilleRisLambers, Y. Zhou, D. Zurell, J. F. Brodie, E. M. Bruna, R. S. Cantrell, R. Decker, E. O. Effiom, E. C. Fricke, K. Gurski, A. Hastings, J. Johnson, B. A. Loiselle, M. N. Miriti, M. G. Neubert, L. Pejchar, J. R. Poulsen, G. Pufal, O. H. Razafindratsima, M. Sandor, K. Shea, S. J. Schreiber, E. W. Schupp, R. S. Snell, C. Strickland, and J. Zambrano. 2020. Advancing an interdisciplinary framework to study seed dispersal ecology. AoB Plants 12 (2): plz048. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plz048

Special Issue Editor's Choice Botany One

Beckman, N. G. and P. Tiansawat. 2020. Trait-Based Approach For Selecting Species for Aerial Seeding. Chapter 6, pp 84-101 in Elliott S., G, Gale & M. Robertson (Eds), Automated Forest Restoration: Could Robots Revive Rain Forests? Proceedings of a brain-storming workshop , Chiang Mai University, Thailand. 254 pp.

Freeman, J., E. Robinson, N. G. Beckman, D. Bird, J. A. Baggio, J. M. Anderies. 2020. The global ecology of human population density and interpreting changes in paleo-population density. Journal of Archaeological Science 120: 105168. DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2020.105168

Marchand, P. L. S. Comita, S. J. Wright, R. Condit, S. P. Hubbell, N. G. Beckman*. 2020. Seed-to-seedling transitions exhibit distance-dependent mortality but no strong spacing effects for common tree species in a Neotropical forest. Ecology 101 (2): e02926 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2926 *Last author denotes senior author

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Schreiber, S. and N. G. Beckman. 2020. Individual variation in dispersal and fecundity increases rates of spatial spread. AoB Plants 12 (3): plaa001. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plaa001

Special Issue Botany One

Stump, S. M., J. H. Marden, N. G. Beckman, S. A. Mangan, L. S. Comita. 2020. Resistance-genes affect how pathogens maintain plant abundance and diversity. The American Naturalist 196 (4): 472–486   DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/710486

Zambrano, J., N. G. Beckman, J. Thompson, M. Uriate, Jess K. Zimmerman and N. G. Swenson. 2020. The scale dependency of trait-based tree neighborhood models. Journal of Vegetation Science 31 (4): 581-593. DOI: 10.1111/jvs.12880

Zambrano, J., N. J. Cordeiro, C. Garzon-Lopez, L. Yeager, C. Fortunel, H. J. Ndangalasi, and N. G. Beckman*. 2020. Investigating the direct and indirect effects of forest fragmentation on plant functional diversity. PLOS ONE 15 (7): e0235210 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235210 *Last author denotes co-lead

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Aslan, C. E., N. G. Beckman, H. R. Rogers, J. L. Bronstein, D. Zurell, F. Hartig, K. Shea, L. Pejchar, M. G. Neubert, J. R. Poulsen, J. HillRisLambers, M. N. Miriti, B. A. Loiselle, E. O. Effiom, J. Zambrano, E. W. Schupp, G. Pufal, J. Johnson, J. M. Bullock, J. F. Brodie, E. M. Bruna, R. S. Cantrell, R. Decker, E. C. Fricke, K. Gurski, A. Hastings, O. Kogan, J. A. Powell, O. H. Razafindratsima, M. Sandor, S. J. Schreiber, R. S. Snell, C. Strickland, and Y. Zhou. 2019. Employing plant functional groups to advance seed dispersal ecology and conservation. AoB Plants 11 (2): plz006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plz006

Special Issue Botany One

Rogers, H. C., N. G. Beckman, F. Hartig, J.S. Johnson, G. Pufal, K. Shea, D. Zurell, J.M. Bullock, S. Cantrell, B. Loiselle, L. Pejchar, O. Razafindratsima, M. Sandor, E.W. Schupp, C. Strickland, J. Zambrano. 2019. The total dispersal kernel: a review and future directions. AoB Plants 11 (5): plz042. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plz042

Special Issue Editor's Choice Botany One

Schupp, E. W., R. Zwolak, L. R, Jones, R. S. Snell, N. G. Beckman, C. Aslan, B. R. Cavazos, E. Effiom, E. C. Fricke, F. Montaño-Centellas, J. Poulsen, O. H. Razafindratsima, M. E. Sandor, K. Shea. 2019. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Drivers of Intraspecific Variation in Seed Dispersal Are Diverse and Pervasive. AoB Plants 11 (6): plz067. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plz067

Special Issue Editor's Choice Botany One

Snell, R. S.*, N. G. Beckman*, E. C. Fricke, B. A. Loiselle, C. S. Carvalho, L. R. J. Jones, N. I. Lichti, N. Lustenhouwer, S. J. Schreiber, C. Strickland, L. L. Sullivan, B. R. Cavazos, I. Giladi, A. Hastings, K. M. Holbrook, E. Jongejans, O. Kogan, F. Montaño-Centellas, J. Rudolph, H. R. Rogers, R. Zwolak, and E. W. Schupp. 2019. Consequences of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal for plant demography, communities, evolution, and global change. AoB Plants 11 (4): plz016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plz016 *Authors contributed equally

Special Issue Editor's Choice Botany One

Zambrano, C. Garzon-Lopez, L. Yeager, C. Fortunel, N. J. Cordeiro, and N. G. Beckman*. 2019. The effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on plant functional traits and functional diversity: what do we know so far? Oecologia 191: 505–518. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04505-x *Last author denotes co-lead

Krishnadas, M., N. G. Beckman , J. C. Penagos, Y. Zhu, J. Whitacre, J. Wenzel, S. Queenborough, L. S. Comita. 2018. Environment and past land-use together predict functional diversity in a temperate forest. Ecological Applications. 28: 2142-2152. DOI: 10.1002/eap.1802

Beckman, N. G. 2018. Seedscapades in Seedscapes: The Arising Researcher. Bulletin Ecological Society of America 99 (3): 311–312. DOI: 10.1002/bes2.1412

Beckman, N. G., J. Bullock, R. Salguero-Gómez. 2018. High dispersal ability is related to fast life history strategies. Journal of Ecology. 106: 1349–1362. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.12989

Special Feature Utah Public Radio Utah State Today Journal of Ecology Blog

Tiansawat, P., N. G. Beckman, and J.W. Dalling. 2017. Pre-dispersal seed predators and fungi differ in their effect on Luehea seemannii capsule development, seed germination, and dormancy across two Panamanian forests. Biotropica 49 (6): 871-880. DOI: 10.1111/btp.12473

Data archived at   

Burnside, William R., Heather Randell, Noelle G. Beckman, Jenny Zambrano, Allison Howard. 25 July 2016. RE: A socio-environmental perspective on international migration. Science eLetter.

Comita, Liza S. Comita, Simon A. Queenborough, Jenalle L. Eck, Stephen Murphy, Kaiyang Xu, Meghna Krishnadas, Noelle Beckman and Yan Zhu. 2014.Testing predictions of the Janzen-Connell hypothesis: A meta-analysis of experimental evidence for distance- and density-dependent seed and seedling survival. Journal of Ecology 102 (2): 845-856. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.12232

Beckman, N.G., R. Dybzinski, and D. Tilman. 2014. Neighborhoods have little effect on fungal attack or insect predation of developing seeds in a grassland biodiversity experiment. Oecologia 174 (2): 521-532. DOI: 10.1007/s00442-013-2788-3

Stephenson, N. L., A. J. Das, R. Condit, S. E. Russo, P. Baker, N. G. Beckman, et al. 2014. Rate of tree carbon accumulation increases continuously with tree size. Nature DOI:10.1038/nature12914

Nature News Summary & Podcast

Beckman, N.G. and H. S. Rogers. 2013. Consequences of seed dispersal for plant recruitment in tropical forests: Interactions within the seedscape. Biotropica 45(6): 666–681. DOI: 10.1111/btp.12071

Beckman, N.G. 2013. The distribution of fruit and seed toxicity during development for eleven Neotropical trees and vines in Central Panama. PloS ONE 8(7): e66764. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0066764

Data archived at   

Beckman, N. G., C. Neuhauser, and H. C. Muller-Landau. 2012. The interacting effects of clumped seed dispersal and distance- and density-dependent mortality on seedling recruitment patterns. Journal of Ecology 100 (4): 862-873. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2012.01978.x

Journal of Ecology Blog

Beckman, N. G. and H.C. Muller-Landau. 2011. Linking fruit traits to variation in predispersal vertebrate seed predation, insect seed predation, and pathogen attack. Ecology 92: 2131-2140. DOI: 10.1890/10-2378.1

Beckman, N. G. and H. C. Muller-Landau. 2007. Differential effects of hunting on pre-dispersal seed predation and primary and secondary seed removal of two Neotropical tree species. Biotropica 39 (3): 328-339. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2007.00273.x

Editors’ Choice in Science

Wright, S. J., K. E. Stoner, N. Beckman , R. T. Corlett, R. Dirzo, H. C. Muller-Landau, G. Nuñez-Iturri, C. A. Peres, B. C. Wang. 2007. The plight of large animals in tropical forests and the consequences for plant regeneration. Biotropica 39(3): 289-291. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2007.00293.x

Mollov, D, M. Hayslett, K. Eichstaedt, N. Beckman, M. Daughtrey, B. Lockhart. 2007. Identification and characterization of a Carlavirus causing veinal Necrosis of Coleus. Plant Disease 91(6): 754-757. DOI: 10.1094/ PDIS-91-6-0754

Marsh, D.M., R.B. Page, T.J. Hanlon, H. Bareke, R. Corritone, N. Jetter, N.G. Beckman, K.J.Gardner, D.E. Seifert and P.R. Cabe. 2007.  Ecological and genetic evidence that low-order streams inhibit dispersal by red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus). Canadian Journal of Zoology 85(3): 319-327.

Marsh, D.M., G.S. Milam, N.P. Gorham and N.G. Beckman. 2005.  Forest roads as partial barriers to terrestrial salamander movement. Conservation Biology 19(6): 2004-2008.

Marsh, D. M. and N.G. Beckman. 2004. Effects of forest roads on the abundance and activity of terrestrial salamanders. Ecological Applications 14(6): 1882-1891.

Beckman, N.G. and L. E. Hurd. 2003. Pollen feeding and fitness in a praying mantis:the vegetarian side of a tritrophic carnivore. Environmental Entomology 32(4): 881- 885. DOI: 10.1603/0046-225X-32.4.881