Dataset used in paper submitted to PLos One and entitled: Spatial pattern of herbaceous seed dispersal by ungulates in grasslands of the Doñana National Park (SW Spain)

Datasets pertain to a study on the effect of the ungulate community composition on short distance seeds dispersal and the potential generation of spatial pattern of plant species distribution. The study was conducted at two grassland sites (Martinazo and Matasgordas) in the Doñana National Park (SW Spain). The sites were used by: i) a four ungulate species comunity (i.e., deer, wild boar, cattle and horse) and ii) a community highly dominated by deer. Both sites differed in the total number of herbaceous seeds dispersed and in the plant families most abundantly dispersed. In the four-species ungulate community, cow and deer were the most dissimilar pair in taxonomic composition of dispersed seeds. In addition, in this community, but not in the deer dominated one, we found significant spatial patterns of total seed dispersal (significant positive effect of short-distance feces aggregation, spatial covariance in seed content of two nearby feces, and significant correlation between seed content and density of nearby feces) as well as significant spatial pattern of dispersal of the seeds families preferentially associated with cow. These findings highlight a notable effect of the composition of disperser community on seeds dispersal and spatial structure at the short spatial scale of this study Dataset consists of ten datafiles that include: i) information on seed content and taxonomic composition (families) in fecal samples collected in the two study sites (Matasgordas and Martinazo) and where the ungulate comunities are composed by a single disperser (deer in Matasgordas) or four dispersers (dear, cow, horse, wild board in Martinazo) and ii) information on spatial coordinates of fecal samples collected in the two sites (Martinazo and Matasgordas) as well as the seed content per sample (total seed content and seed content of the three most frequent plant families dispersed at each site).

Two files include data on seeds content and taxonomic composition in the feces from deer occurring in the two study sites (file #1) and on seeds content and taxonomic composition in feces from the four ungulates occurring in Martinazo site (file #2). Other eight files include information on spatial coordinates of fecal samples collected in the two sites (Martinazo and Matasgordas) as well as the seed content per sample (total seed content and seed content of the three most frequent plant families dispersed at each site). (files #3 to 10).