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Seed fate and seedling recruitment in monkey latrines in rustic cocoa plantations and rain forest in southern Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2018

Diego A. Zárate ,
Ellen Andresen Open the ORCID record for Ellen Andresen [Opens in a new window]  and
Carolina Santos-Heredia
Diego A. Zárate
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigación La Suiza, Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria, Rionegro-Santander, Colombia Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
Ellen Andresen*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
Carolina Santos-Heredia
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México Escuela de Biología, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia
*
*Email: andresen@iies.unam.mx
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Abstract

Primates are important seed dispersers in natural ecosystems and agro-ecosystems, but the latter scenario remains under-studied. The degree to which primates favour plant regeneration greatly depends on post-dispersal processes. The main objective of this study was to compare patterns of seed/seedling fate and seedling recruitment in two habitats of the black howler monkey (Alouatta pigra Lawrence 1933), rustic cocoa and rain forest, and two types of seed-deposition locations, monkey latrines and control locations. Field experiments were carried out within the non-overlapping home ranges of six monkey groups, three in cocoa and three in forest. Seed and seedling fates were assessed for one focal tree species, Brosimum lactescens. The probabilities of seed survival (0.52), germination (0.72), seedling establishment (0.73) and early seedling survival (0.38) were not affected by habitat or seed-deposition location. Late seedling survival was similar in the two habitats but was higher in control locations (0.22) than in latrines (0.09). In cocoa, 4641 seedlings of 59 species were recorded, in forest 3280 seedlings of 68 species. Seedling recruitment was similar in both habitats, but latrines had higher densities than control locations. The importance of agro-ecosystems with low management intensity for the maintenance of ecological processes in anthropogenic landscapes is discussed.

Keywords

Agro-ecosystemAlouatta pigraLacandonaplant regenerationshade cocoa
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , January 2019 , pp. 18 - 25
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2018 

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