دانلود رایگان مقاله ارائه خدمات اکوسیستم توسط پستانداران بزرگ

Abstract

Forested landscapes are increasingly affected by human activities, but little is known about the role of large endangered frugivores as seed dispersers in such ecosystems. We investigated the role played by the bonobo (Pan paniscus) in a human-altered forest-savanna mosaic in Democratic Republic of the Congo. The studied groups are part of a community-based conservation programme but live at the interface with human activities. We identi- fied dispersed species via faecal analysis, classified them into a regeneration guild and a seed size category, determined the effect of gut transit on seed germination, and the habitat use of bonobos. Bonobos dispersed intact seeds of 77 species, 80.8% of which were large-seeded (≥10 mm long), of which few can be dispersed by sympatric frugivores. They dispersed a majority (49%) of shade-bearers that thrive in forest understory with limited amount of light, all of which were large-seeded. Transit had an overall positive effect on seed germination. Bonobos used various habitat types, showing preferences for understory with intermediate light availability and dominated by woody or herbaceous vegetation. This dispersal pattern probably enhances recruitment of shadebearers, and we thus hypothesized that those species benefited from directed dispersal by bonobos. This threatened frugivore provides unique dispersal services and likely plays a paramount functional role in the regeneration of late successional forests in this mosaic landscape. Management plans should pay particular attention to the role of large and rare frugivores in human-dominated regions as their disappearance could disrupt forest succession to a climax state.

5. Conclusion

We showed that the bonobo dispersed a majority of large-seeded species that few or no other sympatric frugivore can disperse. More importantly, they also dispersed a majority of shade-bearers species, which all had large seeds, and were deposited more often in locations with intermediate light availability. This dispersal pattern should enhance shade-bearers establishment, and we thus hypothesized that bonobos performed directed seed dispersal for those plants. We concluded that they play a unique and paramount functional role since the long-term maintenance of forest succession to a climax state and the conservation of a rich community in this landscape might falls to that threatened frugivore. That finding is of particular concern given the growing rates of bushmeat extraction (Fa et al., 2002), and forest degradation (Haddad et al., 2015; Mayaux et al., 2013) in the region. Management plans that aim to implement effective conservation in human-modified and impoverished landscapes should pay particular attention to animals that have unique and keystone function, and invest in long-term conservation programmes because the disruption of animal-mediated forest regeneration process can be subtle and need decades to be seen. It can nevertheless have harmful and long-lasting consequences on forest dynamics and ultimately on human wellbeing. In that regard, the traditional taboo concerning bonobos and the community-based conservation programme in the mosaic offer a remarkable opportunity to involve the local community into conservation efforts and ensure both their development and the resilience of the forest system.