Abstract
ABSTRACTDispersal quality, an important component of seed disperser effectiveness, may strongly affect the rate of plant recruitment. Here we evaluated the quality ofCebusmonkey dispersal by comparing the secondary removal fate and germination of fresh andCebus‐ingested seeds of nine tree species on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Overall, rates of secondary seed removal by vertebrates were low, with mostCebusdefecations remaining undisturbed for extended periods on the forest floor. Only four of 30 feces were completely buried by dung beetles, and we found significantly higher vertebrate removal of defecated seeds than control seeds for only one species,Cordia bicolor. Seed germination varied greatly between plant taxa. Seeds of 3 out of 9 species showed significantly higher percent germination after monkey gut passage than control fresh seeds. Germination times tended to be shorter for defecated than for control seeds but were significantly different only for one of nine species,Cecropia insignis. Low rates of seed removal fromCebusfeces, coupled with high germination probabilities, suggest high dispersal effectiveness forCebusand contrasts strongly with patterns of post‐dispersal seed fate recorded for other primate species.
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