Invasive cutleaf coneflower seeds cached in nest boxes: possibility of dispersal by a native rodent

Invasive species present serious problems for ecosystems and economies. One such species, the invasive cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata L.), has several modes of seed dispersal, namely autochory, anemochory, epizoochory, myrmecochory and anthropochory. Because we found caches of this invasive plant's seeds in two nest boxes, suggesting the possibility of synzoochory, we report here the details of the caches. In one of the boxes, many of the seeds were cached in autumn and eaten during the winter. Automatic sensor cameras directed at the boxes revealed that three rodent species and two avian species visited the boxes. The characteristics of the caches and the nest‐box visitors suggested that the small Japanese field mouse (Apodemus argenteus Temm.) was the animal most likely to have cached the seeds in the boxes.