Seed dispersal by a diurnal primate community in the Dja Reserve, Cameroon

Poulsen, John R.; Clark, Connie J.; Smith, Thomas B.

doi:10.1017/s0266467401001602

Cited by 110 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

104

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…RLQ analysis relates a plot-by-variable table (R) to a species-by-traits table (Q), with a plot-by-species table (L) serving as a link between R and Q. For animal species traits we included body size (small, ,5 kg; small-to-medium, ,10 kg; medium, ,50 kg; large, .50 kg) as reported in Kingdon (1997); feeding guild (browser, frugivore, frugivore-granivore, granivore, grazer, insectivore) from Gautier-Hion et al (1985), Clark et al (2001), Poulsen et al (2001Poulsen et al ( , 2002, and Morgan and Sanz (2006); and protected status (unprotected, partially protected, protected) according to the Congo hunting laws. For environmental traits we included type of disturbance (hunting, logging), fruit abundance, number of signs of hunting, mean dbh of trees .10 cm, canopy heterogeneity, number of trees, number of trees topped by lianas, and number of understory and canopy trees.…”

Section: Rlq Analysis To Link Species Traits With Environmental Charamentioning

confidence: 99%

Decoupling the effects of logging and hunting on an Afrotropical animal community

Poulsen

Clark

Bolker

2011

Ecological Applications

109

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. In tropical forests, hunting nearly always accompanies logging. The entangled nature of these disturbances complicates our ability to resolve applied questions, such as whether secondary and degraded forest can sustain populations of tropical animals. With the expansion of logging in central Africa, conservation depends on knowledge of the individual and combined impacts of logging and hunting on animal populations. Our goals were (1) to decouple the effects of selective logging and hunting on densities of animal guilds, including apes, duikers, monkeys, elephant, pigs, squirrels, and large frugivorous and insectivorous birds and (2) to compare the relative importance of these disturbances to the effects of local-scale variation in forest structure and fruit abundance. In northern Republic of Congo, we surveyed animals along 30 transects positioned in forest disturbed by logging and hunting, logging alone, and neither logging nor hunting. While sampling transects twice per month for two years, we observed 47 179 animals of 19 species and eight guilds in 1154 passages (2861 km). Species densities varied by as much as 480% among forest areas perturbed by logging and/or hunting, demonstrating the strong effects of these disturbances on populations of some species. Densities of animal guilds varied more strongly with disturbance type than with variation in forest structure, canopy cover, and fruit abundance. Independently, logging and hunting decreased density of some guilds and increased density of others: densities varied from 44% lower (pigs) to 90% higher (insectivorous birds) between logged and unlogged forest and from 61% lower (apes) to 77% higher (frugivorous birds) between hunted and unhunted forest. Their combined impacts exacerbated decreases in populations of some guilds (ape, duiker, monkey, and pig), but counteracted one another for others (squirrels, insectivorous and frugivorous birds). Together, logging and hunting shifted the relative abundance of the animal community away from large mammals toward squirrels and birds. Logged forest, even in the absence of hunting, does not maintain similar densities as unlogged forest for most animal guilds. To balance conservation with the need for economic development and wild meat in tropical countries, landscapes should be spatially managed to include protected areas, community hunting zones, and production forest.

show abstract

Section: Rlq Analysis To Link Species Traits With Environmental Charamentioning

confidence: 99%

Decoupling the effects of logging and hunting on an Afrotropical animal community

Poulsen

Clark

Bolker

2011

Ecological Applications

109

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Large primates are among the largest frugivores in African forests and play a significant ecological role through primary seed dispersal [17,18]. They are particularly important dispersers of large-seeded plants and may be the sole dispersers of some tropical plant species [15,19,20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bushmeat hunting changes regeneration of African rainforests

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To assess ecological consequences of bushmeat hunting in African lowland rainforests, we compared paired sites, with high and low hunting pressure, in three areas of southeastern Nigeria. In hunted sites, populations of important seed dispersers-both small and large primates (including the Cross River gorilla, Gorilla gorilla diehli)-were drastically reduced. Large rodents were more abundant in hunted sites, even though they are hunted. Hunted and protected sites had similar mature tree communities dominated by primate-dispersed species. In protected sites, seedling communities were similar in composition to the mature trees, but in hunted sites species with other dispersal modes dominated among seedlings. Seedlings emerging 1 year after clearing of all vegetation in experimental plots showed a similar pattern to the standing seedlings. This study thus verifies the transforming effects of bushmeat hunting on plant communities of tropical forests and is one of the first studies to do so for the African continent.

show abstract

“…In cercopithecines, swallowed seeds tend to be smaller than spat-out seeds (Lambert, 1999;Lucas and Corlett, 1998) (Appendix B) but recorded seed size limitations of most cercopithecines are not absolute. As seed size increases, the animals tend to swallow fewer seeds and spit more, thereby still dispersing a small number of large seeds by defecation (Kaplin and Lambert, 2002;Kaplin and Moermond, 1998;Otani, 2010;Poulsen et al, 2001;Yumoto et al, 1998). The largest seed recorded being swallowed for each species (N = 8) is significantly related to body size (Pearson's correlation: r = 0.792, p = 0.02) with seeds as long as 42 mm being swallowed by Mandrillus leucophaeus (Astaras and Waltert, 2010) the largest cercopithecine (Appendix B).…”

Section: Cercopithecines As Seed Dispersersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fourth, high removal rates of seeds from the vicinity of the parent plant have now been documented for some plant species dispersed by Macaca (>80%; McConkey et al unpublished data), and distances of several hundred metres have been recorded for spat seeds (Huang, 2005; Appendix B). Finally, when cercopithecines both spit and defecate seeds of the same species the resulting variability in the seed shadow can be beneficial to a plant, because seeds reach a wider variety of regions and distances (McConkey and Brockelman, 2011;Poulsen et al, 2001).…”

Section: Cercopithecines As Seed Dispersersmentioning

confidence: 99%

The value of disturbance-tolerant cercopithecine monkeys as seed dispersers in degraded habitats

Albert¹,

McConkey²,

Savini³

et al. 2014

Biological Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tHabitat disturbance has caused a global decline in populations of frugivores, with critical consequences for seed dispersal. Large-seeded plants are especially threatened as they depend on a restricted number of large-bodied dispersers that are vulnerable to extinction and cannot maintain populations in most disturbed habitats. Cercopithecine monkeys are potentially key seed dispersers in disturbed habitats, because of the robustness of some species to disturbance and their ability to disperse large seeds. However, the potential ecological roles of the more disturbance-tolerant species are rarely discussed. This review evaluates the seed dispersal role of cercopithecines in disturbed habitats by investigating their ability to tolerate habitat disturbance, their seed dispersal abilities, and the threats to species survival. Cercopithecines are characterised by ecological flexibility; most species adjust their diet, group size, home range size and, often, feeding methods according to resource availability and habitat structure. Consequently, 79% of species are tolerant of varying degrees of habitat disturbance. Cercopithecines are often inconsistent seed dispersers, but they have the capacity to disperse many seeds, large seeds and to disperse them across large distances. They may be among the most important frugivores in altered environments in Asia and Africa. However, many disturbance-tolerant cercopithecine species are targeted by local people as pests, which poses a major threat to their conservation. In conclusion, the management of all disturbance-tolerant cercopithecine species should be re-evaluated given their importance in the regeneration of degraded Asian and African habitats.

show abstract

Seed dispersal by a diurnal primate community in the Dja Reserve, Cameroon

Cited by 110 publications

References 36 publications

Decoupling the effects of logging and hunting on an Afrotropical animal community

Decoupling the effects of logging and hunting on an Afrotropical animal community

Bushmeat hunting changes regeneration of African rainforests

The value of disturbance-tolerant cercopithecine monkeys as seed dispersers in degraded habitats

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About