Is the western lowland gorilla a good gardener ? Evidence for directed dispersal in Southeast Gabon

[en] In Central African tropical forests, the western lowland gorilla deposits most of the seeds it disperses in well-lit nesting sites that can favour seedling growth. The faecal matrix surrounding the seeds can act as a fertiliser and further enhance seedling development. This fertilisation effect had never been tested. Our research therefore aimed to determine whether seed deposition by gorillas (i) in faecal matter and (ii) in nest sites is advantageous for seedling development (growth rate and foliation rate) and survival (% of surviving seedlings). To assess the effect of the faecal matrix, seeds of Santiria trimera (Burseraceae), Chrysophyllum lacourtianum (Sapotaceae) and Plagiostyles africana (Euphorbiaceae) collected from gorilla faeces were sown in a nursery with and without a faecal matrix. Seedlings of Santiria trimera and Dacryodes normandii (Burseraceae) were established in nest sites and in closed canopy terra firme forest sites to assess the impact of seed deposition on seedling development and survival. The faecal matrix was observed to positively influence seedling development in the species studied, but showed no effect on survival. Regarding seed deposition sites, the development rates observed were two to ten times higher in the nest sites than in closed-canopy forest. This enhanced seedling development was positively correlated with canopy openness. In situ studies of seed germination, seedling growth and survival are needed to characterise the fate of gorilla-dispersed seeds more precisely. However, our results offer evidence that gorillas provide important directed dispersal services by depositing seeds most frequently in open canopy sites.

Disciplines :

Phytobiology (plant sciences, forestry, mycology...)
Environmental sciences & ecology

Author, co-author :

Haurez, Barbara ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Doct. sc. agro. & ingé. biol.

Brostaux, Yves ; Université de Liège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Statistique, Inform. et Mathém. appliquée à la bioingénierie

Petre, Charles-Albert ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Form. doct. sc. agro. & ingé. biol.

Doucet, Jean-Louis ; Université de Liège > Ingénierie des biosystèmes (Biose) > Laboratoire de Foresterie des régions trop. et subtropicales

Language :

English

Title :

Is the western lowland gorilla a good gardener ? Evidence for directed dispersal in Southeast Gabon

Publication date :

2015

Journal title :

Bois et Forêts des Tropiques

ISSN :

0006-579X

eISSN :

1777-5760

Publisher :

Société pour le Développement de l'Utilisation des Bois Tropicaux, Paris, France

Volume :

324

Issue :

Pages :

39-50

Peer reviewed :

Peer reviewed

Available on ORBi :

since 08 April 2016

Statistics

Number of views

146 (8 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

201 (5 by ULiège)

More statistics

Scopus citations^®

Scopus citations^®
without self-citations

OpenCitations

Bibliography

Andriantsaralaza S., Pedrono M., Tassin J., Roger E., Rakouth B., Danthu P., 2013. The role of extinct giant tortoises in the germination of extant baobab Adansonia rubrostipa seeds in Madagascar. African Journal of Ecology, 52:246-249.
Arnhem E., 2008. Eco-ethological response of great apes and other rainforest mammals to selective logging in Cameroon. Université Libre de Bruxelles, 162 p.
Aubréville A., 1962. Flore du Gabon n° 3 Irvingiacées : Simaroubacées, Burséracées. Paris, France, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Laboratoire de Phanérogamie, 101 p.
Brink M., 2008. Dacryodes normandii Aubrév. and Pellegr. In: Louppe D., Oteng-Amoako A. A., Brink M. (eds.). Prota, 7 (1): Timbers/Bois d'oeuvre 1. PROTA, Wageningen, Pays-Bas, 210-211.
Bueno R. S., Guevara R., Ribeiro M. C., Culot L., Bufalo F. S., Galetti M., 2013. Functional redundancy and complementarities of seed dispersal by the last Neotropical megafrugivores. PLoS ONE, 8 (2): E56252.
Chapman C. A., Russo S. E., 2005. Primate seed dispersal: Linking behavioral ecology with forest community structure. In: Campbell C. J., Fuentes A., MacKinnon K. C., Panger M., Bearder S. K. (eds.). Primates in Perspective. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, 510-525.
Connell J. H., 1971. On the role of natural enemies in preventing competitive exclusion in some marine animals and in rain forest trees. In: Van der Boer PJ, Gradwell GR (eds.). Dynamics of populations. Proceeding of the advanced study institute, Osterbeek, 1970. Centre for Agricultural Publication and Documentation, Wageningen, 298-312.
Daïnou K., Laurenty E., Mahy G., Hardy O. J., Brostaux Y., Tagg N., Doucet J.-L., 2012. Phenological patterns in a natural population of a tropical timber tree species, Milicia excelsa (Moraceae): Evidence of isolation by time and its interaction with feeding strategies of dispersers. American Journal of Botany, 99: 1453-63.
Dinerstein E., Wemmer C. M., 1988. Fruits Rhinoceros eat: Dispersal of Trewia nudiflora (Euphorbiaceae) in lowland Nepal. Ecology, 69: 1768-1774.
Doucet J.-L., 2003. L'alliance délicate de la gestion forestière et de la biodiversité dans les forêts du centre du Gabon. Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques de Gembloux, 323 p.
Fourrier M. S., 2013. The spatial and temporal ecology of seed dispersal by gorillas in Lopé National Park , Gabon: Linking patterns of disperser behavior and recruitment in an Afrotropical forest. Washington University in St. Louis, 242 p.
Galetti M., Dirzo R., 2013. Ecological and evolutionary consequences of living in a defaunated world. Biological Conservation, 163: 1-6.
Haurez B., Petre C.-A., Vermeulen C., Tagg N., Doucet J.-L., 2014. Western lowland gorilla density and nesting behavior in a Gabonese forest logged for 25 years: Implications for gorilla conservation. Biodiversity and Conservation, 23: 2669-2687.
Howe H. F., 1989. Scatter-and clump-dispersal and seedling demography: Hypothesis and implications. OEcologia, 79: 417-26.
Howe H. F., Schupp E. W., Westley L. C., 1985. Early consequences of seed dispersal for a neotropical tree (Virola surinamensis). Ecology, 66: 781-791.
Howe H. F., Smallwood J., 1982. Ecology of seed dispersal. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 13: 201-228.
Jansen P. A., Zuidema P. A., 2001. Logging, seed dispersal by vertebrates, and natural regeneration of tropical timber trees. In: Fimbel R. A., Gajal A., Robinson J. G. (eds.). The Cutting Edge: Conserving Wildlife in Logged Tropical Forests. Columbia University Press, 35-59.
Janzen D. H., 1970. Herbivores and the number of tree species in tropical forests. American Naturalist, 104: 501-528.
Kurten E. L., 2013. Cascading effect of contemporaneous defaunation on tropical forest communities. Biological Conservation, 163: 22-32.
Lambert J. E., Chapman C. A., 2005. The fate of primate-dispersed seeds: Deposition pattern, dispersal distance and implications for conservation. In: Forget P.-M., Lambert J. E., Hulme P. E., Vander Wall S. B. (eds.). Seed fate: Predation, dispersal, and seedling Establishment. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK, 137-150.
Lemmens R. H. M. J., 2007. Chrysophyllum lacourtianum De Wild. In: Louppe D., Oteng-Amoako A. A., Brink M. (eds.). Prota, 7(1): Timbers/Bois d'oeuvre 1. PROTA, Wageningen, Pays-Bas, 180-183.
Loiselle B. A., 1990. Seeds in droppings of tropical fruit-eating birds: Importance of considering seed composition. Oecologia, 82: 494-500.
Mcconkey K. R., Brockelman W. Y., Saralamba C., 2014. Mammalian frugivorous with different foraging behaviour can show similar seed dispersal effectiveness. Biotropica, 46: 647-651.
Medjibe V. P., Putz F. E., Romero C., 2013. Certified and uncertified logging concessions compared in Gabon: Changes in stand structure, tree species, and biomass. Environmental Management, 51: 524-40.
Moupela C., Doucet J.-L., Daïnou K., Tagg N., Bourland N., Vermeulen C., 2013. Dispersal and predation of diaspores of Coula edulis Baill. in an evergreen forest of Gabon. African Journal of Ecology, 52: 88-96.
Petre C.-A., Tagg N., Beudels-Jamar R., Haurez B., Salah M., Spetschinsky V., Willie J., Doucet J.-L., 2015a. Quantity and spatial distribution of seeds dispersed by a western lowland gorilla population in south-east Cameroon. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 31 (03): 201-212.
Petre C.-A., Tagg N., Haurez B., Beudels-Jamar R., Huynen M.-C., Doucet J.-L., 2013. Role of the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in seed dispersal in tropical forests and implications of its decline. Biotechnology, Agronomy, Society and Environment, 17: 517-526.
Petre C.-A., Zinque M.-H., Tagg N., Beudels-Jamar R., Haurez B., Josso J.-F., Moretto P., Doucet J.-L., 2015b. Differences in dung beetle activity at western gorilla defecation sites in south-east Cameroon: Implications for establishment of Uapaca spp. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 31: 165-174.
Popma J., Bongers F., 1988. The effect of canopy gaps on growth and morphology of seedlings of rain forest species. OEcologia, 75: 625-632.
R Core Team., 2012. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.
Rogers M. E., Voysey B. C., Mcdonald K. E., Parnell R. J., Tutin C. E., 1998. Lowland gorillas and seed dispersal: The importance of nest sites. American Journal of Primatology, 45: 45-68.
Rosin C., 2014. Does hunting threaten timber regeneration in selectively logged tropical forests ? Forest Ecology and Management, 331: 153-164.
Schmalzer G. H., Lemmens R. H. M. J., 2008. Plagiostyles africana (Müll.Arg.) Prain. In: Schmelzer G. H., Gurib-Fakim, A. (eds.). Prota, 11(1): Plantes médicinales 1. PROTA, Wageningen, Pays-Bas, 513-514.
Schupp E. W., 1988a. Seed and early seedling predation in the forest understory and in treefall gaps. Oikos, 51: 71-78.
Schupp E. W., 1988b. Factors affecting post-dispersal seed survival in a tropical forest. OEcologia, 76: 525-530.
Schupp E. W., Howe H. F., Augspurger C. K., Levey D. J., 1989. Arrival and survival in tropical treefall gaps. Ecology, 70: 562-564.
Stoner K. E., Henry M., 2008. Seed dispersal and frugivory in tropical ecosystems. UNESCO, 6 p.
Todd A. F., Kuehl H. S., Cipolletta C., Walsh P. D., 2008. Using dung to estimate gorilla density: Modeling dung production rate. International Journal of Primatology, 29: 549-563.
Traveset A., Bermejo T., Willson M., 2001. Effect of manure composition on seedling emergence and growth of two common shrub species of Southeast Alaska. Plant Ecology, 155: 29-34.
Traveset A., Robertson A. W., Rodriguez-Pérez J., 2007. A review on the role of endozoochory in seed germination. In: Dennis A. J., Schupp E. W., Green R. J., Westcott D. A. (eds.). Seed dispersal: Theory and its application in a changing world. CAB international, Wallingford, UK, 78-103.
Tutin C. E. G., Williamson E. A., Rogers M. E., Fernandez M., 1991. A case study of a plant-animal relationship: Cola lizae and lowland gorillas in the Lope Reserve, Gabon. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 7: 181-199.
Voysey B. C., Mcdonald K. E., Rogers M. E., Tutin C. E. G., Parnell, R. J., 1999. Gorillas and seed dispersal in the Lope Reserve, Gabon. II: Survival and growth of seedlings. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 15: 39-60.
Wright S. J., 2003. The myriad consequences of hunting for vertebrates and plants in tropical forests. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 6: 73-86.