Seed load of Piper marginatum, a bat-dispersed species in the Atlantic Forest of Northeastern Brazil
Cunto, Gabriela CoutinhoBernard, Enrico
Bats are good seed dispersers and hundreds of plants depend on them for reproduction. Estimating the volume of seeds dispersed by bats is a scientific challenge, but necessary to better define the role and magnitude of those animals as ecological agents and providers of environmental services. Here, we investigated the seed load of Piper marginatum Jacq., a bat-dispersed species in the northeastern Atlantic Forest of Brazil. We were guided by a central question: On average, how many seeds are transported when a bat removes one fruit from a plant? Between July 2011 and January 2012, 590 fruits were monitored for 27 weeks, taking 13 weeks for their maturation, and 11 weeks from complete removal. Correlations and regressions based on fruit length, diameter, weight, and number of total and ripe seeds indicated that a single 14.2 cm ripe fruit contains, on average, 848 seeds (800 ripe). Based on a sample of 149 ripe fruit monitored weekly, we observed that, on average, 16 fruits are removed per week, resulting in the transportation of nearly 12,800 ripe seed. Our data allows a better estimation on the volume of seeds dispersed by bats, emphasizing the ecological services they provide.(AU)