Figure 1

Components of seed dispersal effectiveness of the three main dispersers of C. mandioccana. (a) Percentage of seeds swallowed by muriquis, howler monkeys, and jacutingas, as well as the percentage of spat out seeds (all frugivore combined) in the three study sites characterized by different seed disperser communities: Non defaunated (muriquis, howler monkeys, and jacutingas), Moderate (howler monkeys and jacutingas), and Defaunated (jacutingas). Data are based on focal observations of C. mandioccana fruiting trees in 2011–2012 (Non-defaunated: N = 172 h; Moderate: N = 108 h, and Defaunated: N = 153 h). (b) Germination success of seeds defecated by muriquis, howler monkeys, and jacutingas, compared to seeds without pulp and seeds with pulp along the defaunation gradient. Bars represent the mean number of germinated seeds out of five seeds (ten replicates) and vertical lines represent standard deviation. (c) Seed dispersal distances to C. mandioccana conspecifics by muriquis (N = 173), howler monkeys (N = 127), and jacutingas (N = 168). Frequency distributions of seed dispersal distances (5 m-bins) where red vertical bars represent each observed dispersal event and the blue and grey lines, a non-parametric smoothing spline fit to the empirical distance distributions together with bootstrapped estimates. (Illustrations of: muriqui and howler monkey - Copyright Stephen D. Nash; jacutinga – Copyright Fabio Martins Labecca, authorized by the authors).