title: Frugivory and seed dispersal patterns of the red-ruffed lemur, Varecia rubra, at a forest restoration site in Masoala National Park, Madagascar.
abstract: Frugivorous primates can play a critical role in the regeneration of degraded habitats by dispersing seeds of their food plants. We studied the diet and seed dispersal patterns of 3 groups of habituated red-ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra) in a rain forest restoration site in Masoala National Park, Madagascar, to assess the species' seed dispersal effectiveness. Fruits accounted for 61% of the diet, with an average foraging time of 10 min per fruit patch per day. Seeds from 75% of the consumed fruit species were recovered in the collected V. rubra feces. We traced the potential parent plants of 20 dispersed-seed species to calculate a gut passage range (63-423 min; mean = 225, n = 35). The median seed dispersal distance from the potential parent plant was 48 m (mean = 83 m, range 0-568 m, n = 194). The home ranges of 2 of the 3 groups overlapped with the regenerating forest parcels. Although 92% of fecal samples with seeds were dispersed into the undisturbed forest, V. rubra fed on the fruits of the non-native pioneer shrub Clidemia hirta, while also dispersing native and non-native seed species into the regenerating forest parcels.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Conservation Biology and the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., USA.
authors.forename: Barbara T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Onja H
authors.initials: OH
authors.lastname: Razafindratsima
mesh_terms: D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004032:Diet; D004063:Digestion; D005260:Female; D065928:Forests; D005638:Fruit; D060434:Herbivory; D007901:Lemuridae / Q000502:physiology*; D008270:Madagascar; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D058614:Seed Dispersal; D014197:Trees / Q000502:physiology