Seed dispersal by vertebrates in the tropics is a key ecological process. However, not all animals that eat fruits (frugivores and omnivores) are appropriate seed dispersers. The effectiveness of a frugivore or omnivore as a seed dispersal agent depends on how many seeds it disperses, how it treats these seeds in the mouth and gut, and whether it disperses seeds to habitats suitable for survival, germination, and establishment. Therefore, not all frugivores or omnivores provide equal dispersal benefits to plants. The succession of these processes, by which seeds are dispersed away from the parent plant, germinate as seedlings, and become established as adult plants, is the "seed dispersal cycle." This study examines seed dispersal cycle consequences for recruitment of a tree species, Guettarda viburnoides (Rubiaceae) in savanna habitats of Bolivia. It addresses how specific behaviors by primary dispersers, birds, Tufted Jays and several toucan species, influence plant population growth and spread.
This study will explicitly examine the effects of seed dispersal on plant population growth rates and the rate of population spread over space. Additionally, this study determines the degree to which ecological function can be substituted by different members of the frugivorous bird ecological guild. In light of the decline or even extinction of one or more dispersers, this study addresses whether the remaining species will fulfill the same services to the plant. This study will contribute to the establishment of research collaborations, and strengthen links between the Universidad Mayor de San Andres, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
