Скачать или смотреть Dept Lunch Series: Andrea Blackburn, "Frugivory, seed dispersal...by Bornean orangutan" 10/16/20

"Frugivory, seed dispersal, and dispersal distances by Bornean orangutan" by Andrea Blackburn, Biological Anthropology Ph.D. Candidate

Seed dispersal is an essential ecological process important for forest maintenance and regeneration. Large-bodied frugivores are important seed dispersers as they can access larger size fruits than smaller-bodied fruigivores and can disperse seeds long distances. Orangutans are the largest arboreal frugivore and are predicted to have an important role as seed dispersers. However, orangutan patterns of frugivory suggest orangutans are also seed predators, consuming seeds rather than dispersing them. My research investigates the seed dispersal patterns by wild Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) in Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, Indonesia. I consider how orangutan fruit preference and fruit handling behavior shape their effectiveness as seed dispersers. Additionally, as orangutans travel long distances daily and have long gut passage durations, I test how far orangutans are dispersing seeds. I also show that orangutan seed dispersal distances do not vary with gut passage rates, orangutan sex, or fruit availability. Bornean orangutans are critically endangered thus understanding their ecological roles as seed dispersers and seed predators has conservation implications for both orangutans and the forests they inhabit.