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The influence of burial depth on germination and establishment of seeds in chimpanzee faeces, Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2022

Kouadio Kan S. Koffi ,
Kanvaly Dosso ,
Marios Aristophanous ,
Philippe Moretto ,
Seydou Tiho  and
Roman M. Wittig
Kouadio Kan S. Koffi*
Affiliation:
Université Nangui Abrogoua, UFR des Sciences de la Nature, Laboratoire d’Ecologie et de Développement Durable, 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02, Côte d’Ivoire
Kanvaly Dosso
Affiliation:
Université Nangui Abrogoua, UFR des Sciences de la Nature, Laboratoire d’Ecologie et de Développement Durable, 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02, Côte d’Ivoire
Marios Aristophanous
Affiliation:
African Natural History Research Trust, Street Court, Kingsland, Leominster, HR6 9QA, UK Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK
Philippe Moretto
Affiliation:
2 Rue Marcel Sembat, 83200Toulon, France
Seydou Tiho
Affiliation:
Université Nangui Abrogoua, UFR des Sciences de la Nature, Laboratoire d’Ecologie et de Développement Durable, 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02, Côte d’Ivoire
Roman M. Wittig
Affiliation:
Institute of Cognitive Science, CNRS UMR 5229, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69675Bron, France Taï Chimpanzee Project, CSRS, 01 BP 1303 Abidjan 01, Ivory Coast
*
Author for correspondence: Kouadio Kan S. Koffi, Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

One of the many ecosystem services provided by dung beetles is that of secondary seed dispersal. This paper experimentally evaluates the effectiveness of this service using the chimpanzee–dung beetle seed dispersal system in Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire. The study focussed on the germination rate and success of four species of seeds contained in the faeces of Pan troglodytes verus: Dacryodes klaineana (Pierre) H.J. Lam, Diospyros mannii Hiern, Pycnanthus angolensis (Welw.) Warb., and Uapaca guineensis Muell. Arg. For each species, 600 seeds, half from chimpanzee faeces and half from mother trees, were sown in nurseries at depths of 0, 2, 5, 10, and 15 cm (i.e. 120 seeds per depth; 60 from chimp and 60 from mother trees). After germination, only the seeds of Uapaca guineensis and Diospyros mannii sown at 2 and 5 cm had a >14% rate (between 14.2 and 30.8%) of germination and seedling establishment, regardless of seed origin. An increase in the depth of seed burial appears to negatively affect the probability of seedling emergence and establishment. This study shows that dung beetles have positive impacts on seed fate. However, for these plant species, the chimpanzee’s role is limited to that of primary seed dispersal.

Keywords

Dung beetlesPan troglodytes verussecondary seed dispersalseed predationseedling establishmenttropical rainforest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 38 , Issue 6 , November 2022 , pp. 480 - 489
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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