Body mass and skull dimensions predict seed dispersal capacity in bats,
primates and carnivores from tropical forests
Abstract
Endozoochory is an essential plant-animal interaction in tropical
forests, involving the swallowing and defecation of seeds. To better
understand whether anatomical traits (i.e. body mass and skull
dimensions) are good predictors of seed dispersal in mammals we studied
the relationships between morphology, fruit and seed size and seed
dispersal distance across three orders: Chiroptera, Primates, and
Carnivora. Our results revealed that body mass is an important driver of
the size of ingested seeds for all orders and of the seed dispersal
distance produced by Primates. In addition, the distance between the
molars, jaw length, and jaw gape are good predictors of the size of
ingested seeds. These results show how body mass and cranial anatomy
constrain ingested seed size and dispersal distance across mammals and
reinforce the importance of maintaining functional diversity in seed
dispersers to maintain tropical forest structure and regeneration.