Frugivory and seed dispersal

Dispersal is an important ecological process that affects plant population structure and community composition. Invasive plants with fleshy fruits rapidly form associations with native and invasive dispersers, and may affect existing native plant-disperser associations. We asked whether frugivore visitation rate and fruit removal was associated with plant characteristics in a community of fleshy-fruited plants and whether an invasive plant receives more visitation and greater fruit removal than native plants in a semi-arid habitat of Andhra Pradesh, India. Tree-watches were undertaken at individuals of nine native and one invasive shrub species to assess the identity, number and fruit removal by avian frugivores. Network analyses and generalised linear mixed-effects models were used to understand species and community-level patterns. All plants received most number of visits from abundant, generalist avian frugivores. Number of frugivore visits and time spent by frugivores at individual plants was positively associated with fruit crop size, while fruit removal was positively associated with number of frugivore visits and their mean foraging time at individual plants. The invasive shrub, Lantana camara L. (Lantana), had lower average frugivore visit rate than the community of fleshy-fruited plants and received similar average frugivore visits but greater average per-hour fruit removal than two other concurrently fruiting native species. Based on the results of our study, we infer that there is little evidence of competition between native plants and Lantana for the dispersal services of native frugivores and that more data are required to assess the nature of these interactions over the long term. We speculate that plant associations with generalist frugivores may increase the functional redundancy of this frugivory network, buffering it against loss of participating species.

Many studies have demonstrated the importance of terrestrial mammal fauna to ecosystem functioning and services. To date, however, few studies of mammal abundance in Trinidad and Tobago have been conducted. Our main objective here was to compare the relative abundance (RA) of agoutis (Dasyprocta leporina), an important bushmeat species, in a lowland, multi-use recreational forest surrounded by urbanization, with a former plantation that is now a protected nature reserve containing upland secondary forest. We hypothesized that coarse-scale factors such as hunting, elevation, proximity to paved roads, and vegetation density, would affect the relative abundance of these two agouti populations. As part of the first pilot survey of the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) on Trinidad, using the same camera setup, we deployed paired camera-trap stations at 10 sites in the recreational forest, and five sites in the smaller nature reserve, along a 1 km2 grid of each study site’s trail system between 24 June and 6 November 2016. To test the relative importance of these key ecological factors on agouti relative abundance, we conducted simple linear regressions of each covariate. We found that hunting was significantly associated with lower relative abundance of agouti (p<0.05), whereas increases in elevation had a significant positive effect on relative abundance of agouti (p<0.05). Interestingly, we also found a significant inverse relationship between agouti abundance and the proximity to paved roads (p<0.05), i.e., agouti’s relative abundance was greater at shorter distances or closer to paved roads. We also found no relationship between vegetation density and agouti relative abundance (p>0.05). We concluded that hunting, elevation, and proximity to paved roads, all significantly impact the relative abundance index (RAI) of local agouti populations.

Till today chilli seeds are separated manually and there is no specific machine designed to separate seed from its pulp. The manual process is carried out by hammering chilli fruits with wooden stick, separating the husk using hand separator. This manual method is quite tiresome mainly due to the inhalation of fine particles of chilli fruits by labours. Its pungency results in continuous sneezing and irritation for labours. Hence, it is necessary to eliminate laborious work and time consumption. The automated process of chilli seed extraction will be the better solution for this problem, which helps farmers. This automated method can also be adopted by food industries for large scale extraction of chilli seed, as well.

While the presence of some phytophagous bats species in Neotropical cities is generally known, detailed information on their feeding habits in urban ecosystems is still limited. In some highly developed urban spaces, native plant species are scarce, therefore phytophagous bats living in those conditions could be relying only on resources offered by introduced vegetation. This study describes the diet of Glossophaga soricina in the campus of Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in the city of Lima, Peru. To achieve this, from September 2016 to May 2017, bats were captured using mist nets to collect samples of feces and pollen from their body surface. The phytophagous diet of G. soricina comprised resources offered by at least 25 species of cultivated plants, nearly all of them introduced to Lima. Glossophaga soricina mainly fed on the nectar/pollen of Agave angustifolia, Eucalyptus spp., Crescentia cujete and Musa spp., and fruits of Piper aduncum and Morus nigra. Insects were also registered in its diet. It consumed many non-chiropterophilous flowers and most of its principal resources are not abundant in the study area. Results suggest that G. soricina is a generalist nectarivore that has adapted its dietary habits to consume nectar/pollen of a wide variety of flowers and complements its diet with fruits and insects. It is concluded that introduced cultivated vegetation permits the persistence of G. soricina in the city; hence unsuitable green areas management could negatively affect its local populations. More studies on ecology of urban phytophagous bats in Lima and other Neotropical cities are required to conserve their populations in those altered ecosystems.

La transformación del bosque mesófilo de montaña (BMM) a otros tipos de cobertura de suelo ha causado una gran pérdida de su área original. Ante la necesidad de revertir este proceso, es importante conocer aquellas interacciones que permiten la restauración de este ecosistema, como lo es la dispersión de semillas. En el presente trabajo (1) se caracterizó la comunidad de aves dispersoras y las especies de plantas que dispersan en un potrero y (2) se comparó la lluvia de semillas del potrero con la de un fragmento de BMM aledaño. La captura de aves se realizó con redes de niebla a lo largo de un año. La colecta de lluvia de semillas se realizó con colectores cónicos durante nueve meses. Las especies vegetales se clasificaron por síndrome de dispersión, hábito de crecimiento y etapa sucesional. Se registraron 27 especies de aves que dispersaron 33 especies vegetales. Dumetella carolinensis fue la especie ave que mayor diversidad de semillas dispersó (H’=1.66), mientras que Trichilia havanensis fue la especie vegetal con el índice de importancia relativa más alto (IIR=370.5). También se identificaron 81 especies de plantas en la lluvia de semillas; Platanus mexicana fue la más abundante para ambos sitios. Se encontró una alta similitud de composición de especies con dispersión anemócora (Ĵabd=0.919), así como de plantas leñosas (Ĵabd=0.981) y de sucesión tardía (Ĵabd=0.996) entre los dos sitios. Los resultados de abundancia mostraron diferencias significativas entre ambos sitios, así como para las especies zoócoras, las plantas herbáceas, pastos, las especies pioneras, intermedia y tardía. Los resultados sugieren que las aves migratorias juegan un papel importante en el proceso de dispersión de semillas y que, dadas las características de la lluvia de semillas, el potrero tiene un alto potencial de recuperar la composición vegetal propia de un BMM.

Plant dispersal syndromes are allocated based on diaspore morphology and used to predict the dominant mechanisms of dispersal. Many authors assume that only angiosperms with endozoochory, epizoochory or anemochory syndromes have a longdistance dispersal (LDD) mechanism. Too much faith is often placed in classical syndromes to explain historical dispersal events and to predict future ones. What is usually recorded as the 'endozoochory syndrome' is in reality a 'frugivory syndrome' and this has often diverted attention from endozoochory by non-frugivores (e.g. waterbirds and large herbivores) that disperse a broad range of angiosperms, for which they likely provide the maximum dispersal distances. Neither the endozoochory nor the epizoochory syndromes provide helpful predictions of which plants non-frugivores disperse, or by which mechanism. We combined data from previous studies to show that only 4% of European plant species dispersed by ungulate endozoochory belong to the corresponding syndrome, compared to 36% for ungulate epizoochory and 8% for endozoochory by migratory ducks. In contrast, the proportions of these species that are assigned to an 'unassisted syndrome' are 37, 31 and 28%, respectively. Since allocated syndromes do not adequately account for zoochory, empirical studies often fail to find the expected relationship between syndromes and LDD events such as those underlying the colonization of islands or latitudinal migration rates. We need full incorporation of existing zoochory data into dispersal databases, and more empirical research into the relationship between plant traits and the frequency and effectiveness of different dispersal mechanisms (paying attention to unexpected vectors). Acknowledging the broad role of non-frugivores in facilitating LDD is crucial to improve predictions of the consequences of global change, such as how plant distributions respond to climate change, and how alien plants spread. Networks of dispersal interactions between these vertebrates and plants are a vital but understudied part of the Web of Life.

In the past century, our understanding of the processes driving plant invasion and its consequences for natural and anthropogenic systems has increased considerably. However, the management of invasive plants remains a challenge despite ever more resources being allocated to their removal. Often invasive plants targeted for 'eradication' are well-established, have multiple modes of reproduction, long-term seed banks, and strong associations with native and non-native mutualists that ensure dispersal and facilitate spread. The pantropical weed, Lantana camara (Lantana), is one of the most invasive woody plants globally. We illustrate that, for Lantana, eradication is an unrealistic management goal given the short-term removal approaches, irrespective of the effectiveness of removal methods. We assessed the role of dispersal by avian frugivores in the recolonization of managed areas by Lantana in the seasonally dry, tropical forests of northern and southern India. We estimated the distribution of Lantana, its dispersal potential and the proximity between managed areas and source populations. We found that Lantana was dispersed by many generalist frugivorous birds and that most managed areas were well within the median dispersal distance from source plants facilitating rapid recolonization of managed areas. We conclude that given the difficulty of eradicating long-established invasive plants, management practices should entail long-term monitoring and control in priority areas for as long as Lantana occurs in the landscape.

Contents Summary333I.Introduction334II.Caveats335III.What is an effective disperser?335IV.The SDE landscape and its quantitative and qualitative axes336V.How are disperser assemblages distributed on the SDE landscape?340VI.Composite seed shadows and SDE: are there advantages to being dispersed by multiple dispersal agents?342VII.The context dependence of SDE344VIII.‘Distance-dependent SDE’347IX.Emerging issues348X.Conclusions349 Acknowledgements349 References349 Summary333I.Introduction334II.Caveats335III.What is an effective disperser?335IV.The SDE landscape and its quantitative and qualitative axes336V.How are disperser assemblages distributed on the SDE landscape?340VI.Composite seed shadows and SDE: are there advantages to being dispersed by multiple dispersal agents?342VII.The context dependence of SDE344VIII.‘Distance-dependent SDE’347IX.Emerging issues348X.Conclusions349 Acknowledgements349 References349 Summary333I.Introduction334II.Caveats335III.What is an effective disperser?335IV.The SDE landscape and its quantitative and qualitative axes336V.How are disperser assemblages distributed on the SDE landscape?340VI.Composite seed shadows and SDE: are there advantages to being dispersed by multiple dispersal agents?342VII.The context dependence of SDE344VIII.‘Distance-dependent SDE’347IX.Emerging issues348X.Conclusions349 Acknowledgements349 References349SummaryGrowth in seed dispersal studies has been fast-paced since the seed disperser effectiveness (SDE) framework was developed 17 yr ago. Thus, the time is ripe to revisit the framework in light of accumulated new insight. Here, we first present an overview of the framework, how it has been applied, and what we know and do not know. We then introduce the SDE landscape as the two-dimensional representation of the possible combinations of the quantity and the quality of dispersal and with elevational contours representing isoclines of SDE. We discuss the structure of disperser assemblages on such landscapes. Following this we discuss recent advances and ideas in seed dispersal in the context of their impacts on SDE. Finally, we highlight a number of emerging issues that provide insight into SDE. Overall, the SDE framework successfully captures the complexities of seed dispersal. We advocate an expanded use of the term dispersal encompassing the multiple recruitment stages from fruit to adult. While this entails difficulties in estimating SDE, it is a necessary expansion if we are to understand the central relevance of seed dispersal in plant ecology and evolution.Growth in seed dispersal studies has been fast-paced since the seed disperser effectiveness (SDE) framework was developed 17 yr ago. Thus, the time is ripe to revisit the framework in light of accumulated new insight. Here, we first present an overview of the framework, how it has been applied, and what we know and do not know. We then introduce the SDE landscape as the two-dimensional representation of the possible combinations of the quantity and the quality of dispersal and with elevational contours representing isoclines of SDE. We discuss the structure of disperser assemblages on such landscapes. Following this we discuss recent advances and ideas in seed dispersal in the context of their impacts on SDE. Finally, we highlight a number of emerging issues that provide insight into SDE. Overall, the SDE framework successfully captures the complexities of seed dispersal. We advocate an expanded use of the term dispersal encompassing the multiple recruitment stages from fruit to adult. While this entails difficulties in estimating SDE, it is a necessary expansion if we are to understand the central relevance of seed dispersal in plant ecology and evolution.

Seed dispersal is a key process in plant communities and frugivory is very important in vertebrate communities. This paper updates a review of frugivory and seed dispersal by vertebrates in the Oriental Region (tropical and subtropical Asia) published in 1998. The major conclusions remain the same. Small fruits are consumed by a wide range of potential seed dispersal agents, including species that thrive in small forest fragments and degraded landscapes. Larger and larger-seeded fruits are consumed by progressively fewer dis-persers, and the largest depend on a few species of mammals and birds which are highly vulnerable to hunting, fragmentation, and habitat loss. Controlling hunting in both forest areas and the agricultural matrix must be a top priority for conservation. A lot more natural history information has been added to the literature since 1998. This reinforces previous evidence for the importance of hornbills, bulbuls, elephants, gibbons, civets, and fruit bats in seed dispersal, and suggests that the roles of green pigeons, macaques, rodents , bears, and deer were previously underestimated. The taxa for which additional natural history observations would be most valuable include fish, pheasants, pigeons, babblers, rodents, and even-toed ungulates. For other animal taxa, future frugivory and seed dispersal studies need to focus more on the fitness consequences for both the plants and the animals.

Natural grasslands are one of the ecosystems that have suffered the most intense series of human changes, even though they have not received enough conservation efforts. The proliferation of invasive shrubs and trees over grasslands and savannas around the world has been one of their severest modifications during the last century. The last remnants of South American Pampas are not the exception, with a set of invasive plants of diverse origins thriving over native biodiversity. Among them, those producing animal-dispersed fruits represent a case of particular interest. St. Lucie’s cherry (Prunus mahaleb L.) is a small fleshy-fruited tree native to Eurasia that invades natural grasslands in Southern Pampas, where we registered twenty animal species contributing to its dispersal. In this chapter, we analyze temporal variations in flowering and availability of ripe fruits at the individual and population level. The species phenology in the area matches with reports from its native range, showing short flowering (19-22 days) and fruiting periods (27-34 days). Synchronicity in flowering and ripening of fruits are consistent with generalist strategies in plant-animal interactions, maximizing cross-pollination probabilities and the attraction of several generalist dispersal agents. We postulate that the lack of reproductive phenological overlapping with similar plants may play a key role in its invasion success. Our results suggest that the protection and shading of other trees might permit the fruits to remain in good condition in the canopies for the frugivores during longer periods. In early January, a massive fruit fall occurs and this might change the main dispersal role from birds consuming fruits in the canopies to mammals eating them directly from the floor, being the formers more related to short-distance dispersal and the latter possibly associated to long distance spread. Big trees with high density of fruits beneath the canopy might act as attraction foci to mammals and might have a key role in promoting long-distance dispersal. This suggests that part of the control efforts should be devoted to manage fruit availability in those attraction foci. P. mahaleb reproductive biology and its interactions with dispersal agents can explain to a considerable extent its invasive capacity in the study site and offer valuable information for its management. Incorporating these perspectives on mutualisms and invader-ecosystem interactions might improve the ability to predict invasion processes and contribute to better management decisions in other ecosystems invaded by similar fleshy-fruited species.

The functional or structural linkage among traits [phenotypic integration (PI)] within complex structures can constrain the evolutionary response of individual traits. To analyse whether frugivores with distinct sensory ecology have shaped the patterns of fruit diversification differently, we compared PI values of fleshy fruits that are consumed by birds and mammals. We used phylogenetic comparative analyses of PI among 13 morphological, nutritional and visual fruit traits from 111 Mediterranean plant species. Results showed that morphological traits had higher PI values than nutritional and colour traits. Visual and nutritional traits show positive phylogenetic covariance, while negative covariation occurs between fruits size and nutrients. Importantly, fruits consumed by birds were relatively more integrated than fruits consumed partly or solely by mammals. Hence, we show that major groups of mutualistic frugivores can shape the covariance among some fruit traits differently and thereby influence fruit diversification.

This paper presents information of pollination and dispersal of Acnistus arborescens (L.) Schltdl. in the Pedra Branca State Park, a stretch of Atlantic forest located in western city of Rio de Janeiro. Ten individuals were monitored, carrying out observations on the reproductive phenology, morphology, color and odor of flowers, the occurrence and behavior of floral visitors. The stages of maturation and morphology of fruits were monitored and frugivorous birds were identified. The flowers of A. arborescens are stem, fasciculate, pale-green, measure about 3.2 cm long and 0.55 cm in diameter, and exude a sweet and soft smell. Anthesis is diurnal, starting around 06h00min, lasting approximately 12 hours. Flowers of the monitored individuals were legitimate visited from 10 species of animals, eight insects and two hummingbirds. The fruits are globose, orange, measuring approximately 1.0 cm in diameter and contain about 60 seeds. We recorded 13 bird species of the order Passeriformes consuming ripe fruits.

We examined the effect of seed dispersal by Purplish Jays (Cyanocorax cyanomelas; pulp consumers) and the Chestnut-eared Arac¸ari (Pteroglossus castanotis; ‘‘legitimate’’ seed dispersers) on population growth of the small tree Guettarda viburnoides (Rubiaceae) in northeastern Bolivian savannas. Because each bird species differs with respect to feeding and post-feeding behavior, we hypothesized that seed dispersal by each species will contribute differently to the rate of increase of G. viburnoides, but that seed dispersal by either
species will increase population growth when compared to a scenario with no seed dispersal. To examine the effects of individual dispersers on the future population size of G. viburnoides, we projected population growth rate using demographic models for G. viburnoides that explicitly incorporate data on quantitative and qualitative aspects of seed dispersal by each frugivore species. Our model suggests that seed dispersal by C. cyanomelas leads to positive population growth of G. viburnoides, whereas seed dispersal by P. castanotis has a detrimental effect on the population growth of this species. To our knowledge, this is the first study to
report negative effects of a ‘‘legitimate’’ seed disperser on the population dynamics of the plant it consumes. Our results stress the importance of incorporating frugivore effects into
population projection matrices, to allow a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of different dispersers for plant population dynamics.

Growth in seed dispersal studies has been fast-paced since the seed disperser effec- tiveness (SDE) framework was developed 17 yr ago. Thus, the time is ripe to revisit the framework in light of accumulated new insight. Here, we first present an over- view of the framework, how it has been applied, and what we know and do not know. We then introduce the SDE landscape as the two-dimensional representa- tion of the possible combinations of the quantity and the quality of dispersal and with elevational contours representing isoclines of SDE. We discuss the structure of disperser assemblages on such landscapes. Following this we discuss recent advances and ideas in seed dispersal in the context of their impacts on SDE. Finally, we highlight a number of emerging issues that provide insight into SDE. Overall, the SDE framework successfully captures the complexities of seed dispersal. We advocate an expanded use of the term dispersal encompassing the multiple recruit- ment stages from fruit to adult. While this entails difficulties in estimating SDE, it is a necessary expansion if we are to understand the central relevance of seed dispersal in plant ecology and evolution.

A B S T R A C T Functional traits associated with plant-animal interactions are essential for forest functionality, given that a higher diversity of fruit traits is likely to maintain a more diverse assemblage of frugivores and consequently promote the seed dispersal function. Yet, shade-intolerant species tend to persist in human-modified landscapes in the long term, which in turn is expect to reduce fruit trait diversity. Here we evaluate how forest cover at the landscape-scale influences the functional diversity of fruit traits, considering the zoochoric tree community and two regeneration strategies separately (shade-tolerant and shade-intolerant species). We sampled 20 forest remnants in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, located in landscapes with forest cover ranging from 2 to 93%. In each remnant, we established five plots of 25 × 4 m and marked all trees ≥5 cm diameter at breast height (DBH). We compared morphological and chemical attributes of fleshy fruits directly related to the attraction of frugivores, and evaluated the similarity of the zoochoric tree assemblage composition along the forest cover gradient, taking into account the two regeneration strategies. We calculated four functional indices (richness, evenness, divergence , and community-level weighted means of trait values) and used either linear models or spatial mixed linear models to evaluate the effects of forest cover on functional diversity. Our main results revealed that forest cover loss has negatively affected fruit functional diversity for the overall zoochoric community. Forest cover loss also affected functional richness and functional eveness for total and shade-tolerant species, and was positively correlated with the content of protein and lipid in fruits of shade-intolerant species. Additionally, sites exhibiting a lower amount of forest cover showed greater compositional similarity among shade-intolerant species but reduced similarity among shade-tolerant species. We conclude that patterns of species reassembly triggered by landscape-scale deforestation decreases the capacity of the remaining forest for provisioning food resources for frugivore assemblages. The maintenance of shade-tolerant species is pivotal in deforested areas, since their fruit quality is not offset by shade-intolerant species. This is particularly important, mainly because shade-intolerant species are those still persisting in disturbed forests; however, their presence will not provide the same food quality supplied by those species lost.

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Eulychnia acida is an endemic Chilean cactus species whose fruits show several traits that, taken as a whole, are compatible with a seed dispersal syndrome by large herbivore vertebrates. Since only a few large native mammals exist in Chile at present, cactus fruit consumption and seed dispersal may be coopted by introduced mammals as predicted by Janzen and Martin’s (1982) hypothesis for tropical ecosystems.
We describe the current frugivore species of E. acida in a protected semiarid-Mediterranean ecosystem using field measurements and feeding experiments. In addition, to examine a potential role as seed dispersers of the cactus species, we offered fruits and performed germination tests on seeds defecated by Lama guanicoe and the introduced goat Capra a. hircus under captivity conditions. Our data indicate that while fruits of E. acida are pecked by the Chilean tinamou, Nothoprocta perdicaria, and the Chilean mockingbird, Mimus thenca, and eaten by the brush-tailed rodent, Octodon degus, none of these species could be considered a legitimate seed disperser. Unlike L. guanicoe, the goat C. a. hircus did not reduce seed germination, having a neutral effect.
Results from this study indicate that introduced C. a. hircus was the only species showing a potential role in the seed dispersal process of E. acida. In the absence of native frugivore species, goats might play an important role in population recruitment of the endemic cactus. These results extend Janzen and Martin’s (1982) anachronism hypothesis to the Chilean Mediterranean ecosystem.

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Although plant-inhabiting ants are known to act as effective deterrents to a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores, this has been reported only once before for primates, a group better known for their predation of ants. In the present study, we investigated the effects that colonies of Pseudomyrmex viduus ants living in individual Macrolobium acaciifolium (Fabaceae) trees have on the rates of visitation and fruit removal by four taxa of seed-predating vertebrates: the primate Cacajao melanocephalus ouakary; macaws (Ara spp.); large parrots (Amazona spp.); and the Northern Amazonian red squirrel (Sciurus igniventris). We found that ant presence significantly reduced both rates of visitation and of fruit removal by C. m. ouakary. The same pattern of reduced fruit removal was also observed for other seed predators (parrots, macaws, and squirrels) but not for visitation rates (although this may be a result of the small sample size). This appears to be only the second-known d...

For a plant with bird-dispersed seeds, the effectiveness of seed dispersal can change with fruit availability at scales ranging from individual plants to neighborhoods, and the scale at which frugivory patterns emerge may be specific for frugivorous species differing in their life-history and behavior. The authors explore the influence of multispecies fruit availability at two local spatial scales on fruit consumption of Eugenia uniflora trees for two functional groups of birds. The authors related visitation and fruit removal by fruit gulpers and pulp mashers to crop size and conspecific and heterospecific fruit abundance to assess the potential roles that facilitative or competitive interactions play on seed dispersal. The same fruiting scenario influenced fruit gulpers (legitimate seed dispersers) and pulp mashers (inefficient dispersers) in different ways. Visits and fruit removal by legitimate seed dispersers were positively related to crop size and slightly related to conspecific, but not to heterospecific fruit neighborhoods. Visits and fruit consumption by pulp mashers was not related to crop size and decreased with heterospecific fruit availability in neighborhoods; however, this might not result in competition for dispersers. The weak evidence for facilitative or competitive processes suggest that interaction of E. uniflora with seed dispersers may depend primarily on crop size or other plant's attributes susceptible to selection. The results give limited support to the hypothesis that spatial patterns of fruit availability influence fruit consumption by birds, and highlight the importance of considering separately legitimate and inefficient dispersers to explain the mechanisms that lie behind spatial patterns of seed dispersal.

Intra- and interspecific spatially contagious seed dispersal has far-reaching
implications for plant recruitment, distribution, and community assemblage. However,
logistical and analytical limitations have curtailed our understanding concerning the
mechanisms and resulting spatial patterns of contagious seed dispersal in most systems and,
especially, in complex seed-disperser networks. We investigated mechanisms of seed
aggregation using techniques of spatial point pattern analysis and extensive data sets on
mutispecific endozoochorous seed rain generated by five frugivorous mammals in three
Mediterranean shrublands over two seasons. Our novel analytical approach revealed three
hierarchical and complementary mechanisms of seed aggregation acting at different levels
(fecal samples, seeds, pairs of seed species) and spatial scales. First, the three local guilds of
frugivores tended to deliver their feces highly aggregated at small and intermediate spatial
scales, and the overall pattern of fecal delivery could be described well by a nested doublecluster
Thomas process. Second, once the strong observed fecal aggregation was accounted
for, the distribution of mammal feces containing seeds was clustered within the pattern of all
feces (i.e., with and without seeds), and the density of fecal samples containing seeds was
higher than expected around other feces containing seeds in two out of the three studied seeddisperser
networks. Finally, at a finer level, mark correlation analyses revealed that for some
plant species pairs, the number of dispersed seeds was positively associated either at small or
large spatial scales. Despite the relatively invariant patterning of nested double-clustering,
some attributes of endozoochorous seed rain (e.g., intensity, scales of aggregation) were
variable among study sites due to changes in the ecological context in which seeds and their
dispersers interact. Our investigation disentangles for the first time the hierarchy of synergic
mechanisms of spatially contagious seed dispersal at a range of spatial scales in complex seeddisperser
networks, thus providing a robust and widely applicable framework for future
studies.

This chapter aims to dissect the fleshy fruit/frugivore interface that brings up both characteristics of the fruits as 'prey items', which must be sought, handled and efficiently processed, and the ability of frugivores to perform these tasks, with consequences for the plants themselves. Throughout the chapter, any mention of fruits will be with reference to fleshy fruits, loosely defined to include any structure enclosing seeds surrounded by a fleshy, edible, pulp layer. Most references to frugivorous animals will be to birds, primates, ungulates and bats that behave as seed dispersers. The first section of the chapter describes fruits as prey items from the perspective of the foraging animal, and examines their characteristics, temporal and spatial patterns of availability and intrinsic traits, such as design and nutritive value. The second part reviews frugivore traits that influence fruit choice, fruit and seed processing and foraging movements that have implications for...

Cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.) has an exceptional flavor and aroma, which makes it a fruit with great potential. However, little is known about its propagation by seeds. According to the scientific literature, the germination of cherimoya seeds is affected much more by external conditions than by internal conditions. Germination of cherimoya variety 'Concha Lisa' were tested for germination at constant temperatures of 25, 30, 40°C, and at room temperature, varying from 20-25°C, coupled with total darkness. Seeds were sown in Petri dishes (0.8% agar water), for 25 days of incubation. The kinetics of germination was determined according to five closely related parameters, viz. final germination percentage (FGP), mean germination time (MGT), coefficient of velocity of germination (CVG), time to 50% germination (T50) and seedling length (SL). The temperature of 30°C was found optimally suitable with 70.8% FGP, 17.5 days MGT and 3.91 cm SL, while the room temperature of 20-25°C slightly improved germination with only 25% FGP. Furthermore, significant decrease in FGP and SL was observed at 25°C and 40°C of temperature in comparison to 30°C. The analysis also revealed that cherimoya seed germination, day 10-15 after seed sowing is suitable for final counts. An overview on the emergence of cherimoya seedlings, during a 12-week period in pots is presented.