Seed dispersal effectiveness of the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in Gabon |
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| Authors: | Barbara Haurez Nikki Tagg Charles‐Albert Petre Yves Brostaux Armand Boubady Jean‐Louis Doucet |
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| Affiliation: | 1. TERRA Teaching and Research Center, Central African Forests, Gembloux Agro‐Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium;2. Nature Plus NPO, Wavre, Belgium;3. école Régionale Post‐Universitaire d'Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT), Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo;4. Projet Grands Singes (PGS), Antwerp Zoo Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA), Antwerpen, Belgium;5. Conservation Biology Unit, Directorate Natural Environment, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium;6. Institut de recherche en écologie tropicale, Cenarest, Libreville, Gabon |
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| Abstract: | The quantitative and qualitative aspects of seed dispersal by the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) were investigated in Gabon. Fresh faeces were collected and washed to identify and count the seeds. Seed germinability after gut passage was estimated with trials in a nursery at the study site. To assess the impact of gut passage on germination success and delay, comparative trials were run with four treatments: (i) gut passed seeds cleaned of faeces, (ii) gut passed seeds within a faecal matrix, (iii) seeds from fresh fruits surrounded by pulp, and (iv) seeds from fresh fruits cleaned of pulp. The analysis of 180 faecal units resulted in the identification of 58 species of seed. Germination trials were realized for 55 species and the mean germination success reached 46%. The impact of gut passage was investigated for Santiria trimera and Chrysophyllum lacourtianum; both species displayed higher germination success after ingestion. This study shows that gorillas effectively disperse seeds of numerous plant species, many of which provide timber or nontimber forest products or are typical of Gabonese forests. Considering the high‐quality of gorilla deposition sites, gorillas is thought to play a unique role in the dynamics of Central African forest. |
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| Keywords: | Central Africa deinhibition effect endozoochhory forest dynamics gut passage effect scarification effect |
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