Limited directed seed dispersal in the canopy as one of the determinants of the low hemi-epiphytic figs' recruitments in Bornean rainforests.

ABSTRACT: Ficus species are keystone plants in tropical rainforests, and hemi-epiphytic figs play a notably important role in forest ecosystems. Because hemi-epiphytic figs have strict germination requirements, germination and establishment stages regulate their populations. Despite the ecological importance of hemi-epiphytic figs in the rainforests, seed dispersal systems by fig-eating animals under natural conditions remain unknown because of the difficulty in tracing the destiny of dispersed seeds in the canopy. Therefore, seed dispersal effectiveness (SDE) has never been evaluated for hemi-epiphytic figs. We evaluated the SDE of hemi-epiphytic figs using qualitative and quantitative components by three relatively large-sized (> 3 kg) arboreal and volant animals in Bornean rainforests that largel

SUBMITTER: Nakabayashi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6564369 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature