Long Distance Seed Dispersal by Forest Elephants

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

Pete Morkel¹  Lee J. T. White²  Lingrong Jin³  Justin P. Wright³  Michael J. Fay⁴  Chase L. Núñez⁵  Shuyun Xiao⁷  Christopher Beirne⁸  Colin Rundel⁹  John R. Poulsen^1,10  Taylor Minich^1,10  Seokmin Kim^1,10  Melissa Baldino^1,10  Connie J. Clark^1,10  Juliana Masseloux^1,10  Julia Knorr^1,10  Guichard Ndzeng Obiang^1,11  Tanguy Nkoghe^1,11  Médard Obiang Ebanega^1,11  Joseph Okouyi^1,11  Walter Mbamy^1,11 

[1] 0Independent Researcher, Karasburg, Namibia;1Institut de Recherche en Écologie Tropicale, Libreville, Gabon;African Forest Ecology Group, School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom;Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux, Libreville, Gabon;Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany;Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany;Department of Biology, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States;Department of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada;Department of Statistical Science, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Duke University, Durham, CA, United States;Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States;Omar Bongo University, Libreville, Gabon;

关键词: seed dispersal;    elephant;    tropical forest;    animal movement;    central Africa;    gut passage time;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fevo.2021.789264

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

By dispersing seeds long distances, large, fruit-eating animals influence plant population spread and community dynamics. After fruit consumption, animal gut passage time and movement determine seed dispersal patterns and distances. These, in turn, are influenced by extrinsic, environmental variables and intrinsic, individual-level variables. We simulated seed dispersal by forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) by integrating gut passage data from wild elephants with movement data from 96 individuals. On average, elephants dispersed seeds 5.3 km, with 89% of seeds dispersed farther than 1 km. The longest simulated seed dispersal distance was 101 km, with an average maximum dispersal distance of 40.1 km. Seed dispersal distances varied among national parks, perhaps due to unmeasured environmental differences such as habitat heterogeneity and configuration, but not with human disturbance or habitat openness. On average, male elephants dispersed seeds farther than females. Elephant behavioral traits strongly influenced dispersal distances, with bold, exploratory elephants dispersing seeds 1.1 km farther than shy, idler elephants. Protection of forest elephants, particularly males and highly mobile, exploratory individuals, is critical to maintaining long distance seed dispersal services that shape plant communities and tropical forest habitat.

【 授权许可】

Unknown