The Fate of Seeds Dispersed by Golden Lion Tamarins (Leontopithecus Rosalia) in an Atlantic Forest Fragment, Brazil

Abstract

Frugivores, as seed dispersers may influence the spatial patterns of adult and juvenile plants, but a large portion of the potential recruitment of plant populations is lost to seed predators. The majority of seeds dispersed by primates are killed by seed predators or moved by secondary dispersers. Little is known about post-dispersal seed-predation and seedling distribution of exploited plant species. This study iinvestigated the survival and establishment of seedlings from seeds defecated by the golden lion tamarin ( Leontopithecus rosalia), a frugivorous endemic primate of the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Two groups of golden lion tamarins were studied in the União Biological Reserve from April 2003 to March 2004. Seeds from fruits consumed by tamarins and collected from their feces were evaluated with respect to the following: germination success, seed disappearance or secondary dispersal on the forest floor, seed predation, and seedling establishment and survival for the length of the study period. The tamarin groups consumed 88 fruit species. Of these, 38 were used to run 107 experiments which indicated that more than 50% of the seeds disappeared, about 15% died before germinating and seeds of 22 species reached the seedling stage. At the end of the study, only 15 of these species still had surviving seedlings. Studies on seed fate are important for understanding the role of the golden lion tamarind in the natural process of forest regeneration in the lowland Atlantic Forest of the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Jackfruit trees as seed attractors and nurses of early recruitment of native plant species in a secondary forest in Brazil

“…Native to Southeast Asia (Thomas 1980), the species was introduced in several countries for food, landscaping and, in the case of Brazil, was also used to restore a degraded area in the colonial capital of Rio de Janeiro (Abreu 2008). Jackfruits produce large, nutritious and abundant eshy fruits highly appreciated by humans, but the species is also widely consumed by several frugivores from the local faunas, mainly mammals and birds (Lapenta and Procópio-de-Oliveira 2009;Mileri et al 2012;Raíces et al 2017). As a result of such massive consumption, large quantities of seeds may be dispersed (Faria et al 2009;Oliveira et al 2010), further expanding its distribution and increasing its potential to shape and structure plant and animal communities (Fabricante 2013).…”