Seasonal Variation in Seed Dispersal by Tamarins Alters Seed Rain in a Secondary Rain Forest.

ABSTRACT: Reduced dispersal of large seeds into degraded areas is one of the major factors limiting rain forest regeneration, as many seed dispersers capable of transporting large seeds avoid these sites with a limited forest cover. However, the small size of tamarins allows them to use small trees, and hence to disperse seeds into young secondary forests. Seasonal variations in diet and home range use might modify their contribution to forest regeneration through an impact on the seed rain. For a 2-yr period, we followed a mixed-species group of tamarins in Peru to determine how their role as seed dispersers in a 9-yr-old secondary-growth forest varied across seasons. These tamarins dispersed small to large seeds of 166 tree species, 63 of which were into a degraded area. Tamarins' efficiency in di

SUBMITTER: Culot L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2890985 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature