Ca. Chapman et Lj. Chapman, FRUGIVORY AND THE FATE OF DISPERSED AND NON-DISPERSED SEEDS OF 6 AFRICAN TREE SPECIES, Journal of tropical ecology, 12, 1996, pp. 491-504
The relationship between seedling recruitment (under and away from par
ent trees) and the behaviour of seed dispersers and predators, was exp
lored in a three-year study in Kibale National Park, Uganda. On the ba
sis of 1261 hours of observation, the foraging activity of the diurnal
frugivores which fed on fruit from six tree species was quantified. T
he fate of dispersed and non-dispersed seeds and seedlings was examine
d experimentally. The findings suggest that a trade-off exists between
factors that promote seedling growth in areas with high seedling dens
ity and factors that promote dispersal by frugivores. For example, dis
persal of Mimusops bagshawei increases both seed and seedling survival
; seeds placed away from adult conspecifics had a 8% lower probability
of disappearing than seeds placed under adults and seedlings away fro
m adults had a 30% greater probability of surviving than seedlings gro
wn under adults. In contrast, for Uvariopsis congensis, dispersed seed
s had a 56% greater probability of disappearing than seeds directly un
der a parent tree, while the survival of dispersed and non-dispersed s
eedlings was similar. Non-dispersed seed and seedling disappearance we
re correlated with the percentage of the Fruit crop removed from focal
trees, suggesting that the ability to survive under an adult maybe re
lated to other aspects of the tree's life history.