Oliveira-Silva Liany Regina B, Campêlo Anielise C, Lima Ingrid Mirella S, Araújo Ana Caroline L, Bezerra Bruna M, Souza-Alves João Pedro
Folia Primatol (Basel). 2018;89(2):138-149. doi: 10.1159/000486413. Epub 2018 Mar 26.
The interaction between native fleshy-fruit plants and introduced fruit consumers contributes to the dynamics of highly fragmented environments. Such interactions can occur through pollination and seed dispersal. Here, we investigated the potential of seed dispersing by a non-native primate, the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus), in an urban Atlantic forest fragment in north-eastern Brazil. Fleshy fruits from non-native plants were preferentially exploited by the squirrel monkeys. We measured 147 seeds (width and length) from 20 of 106 faecal samples. The dispersed seeds were from five plant species (four families). We found a positive correlation between the size of seeds found in faecal samples with their availability in the habitat. Only one seed was found visually damaged after passage through the squirrel monkeys' guts. The defecated seeds were uniformly distributed (variance to mean ratio index) in the home range of squirrel monkeys, and there was a lack of specific latrines (i.e., habitat preference for defecation). Our data provide evidence that non-native S. sciureus may in be (i) acting as a potential seed disperser of native plants in the Atlantic forest fragment, (ii) contributing to the ecological role of native frugivores, and (iii) potentially contributing to the regeneration process of the highly degraded study site.
本地肉质果植物与外来果实消费者之间的相互作用影响了高度破碎化环境的动态变化。这种相互作用可通过授粉和种子传播发生。在此，我们研究了外来灵长类动物松鼠猴（Saimiri sciureus）在巴西东北部一个城市大西洋森林片段中传播种子的潜力。松鼠猴优先采食外来植物的肉质果实。我们从106份粪便样本中的20份中测量了147颗种子（宽度和长度）。这些传播的种子来自5种植物（4个科）。我们发现粪便样本中种子的大小与其在栖息地中的可获得性之间存在正相关。在通过松鼠猴的肠道后，仅发现一颗种子有明显损伤。排出的种子在松鼠猴的活动范围内均匀分布（方差与均值比率指数），并且没有特定的排便场所（即对排便的栖息地偏好）。我们的数据表明，外来的松鼠猴可能（i）作为大西洋森林片段中本地植物潜在的种子传播者，（ii）发挥本地食果动物的生态作用，以及（iii）可能有助于高度退化的研究地点的恢复过程。
