Presentation by: Sean Clawson

1. Seed Dispersal in the Dark: Shedding Light on the Role of Fruit Bats in AfricaCarrie E. Seltzer, Henry J. Ndangalasi, and Norbert J. CordieroBiotropica 45:450-456 2013 Presentation by: Sean Clawson

2. Outline of Presentation • 1. Background information including information from some citations • 2. Summarize paper • 3. Discuss connections with class material • 4. Answer questions

3. Major Points • Old World Fruit bats are ecologically important • Seed dispersal by fruit bats is understudied in Africa • This dynamic is important for conservation biology

4. Background • Old World fruit bats not closely related to New-World fruit bats • Many studies on New World fruit bats. Very important players in secondary succession • Old World fruit bat studies indicate they are important dispersers of late successional trees • Muscarella and Fleming 2007

5. Background Continued • Old World fruit bats important for economically valuable trees species • Density of bats may be important for seed dispersal due to intraspecific interactions (McConkey and Drake 2006)

6. The Paper:Why Fruit Bats? • Small bodied but capable of carrying large fruit • Important for forest regeneration • Have received less attention than primates, birds, and large mammals • Feeding roosts can shed light on feeding habits

7. Study Location • Amani Nature Reserve, East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

8. Bat Wadge Under Feeding Roost

9. Methods • 480 observations at feeding roosts below 35 different sites over 11 years • 80% of observations during other field work • 20% from seed traps on farms • Distance to nearest possible parent tree • Seed Size

10. Plant Species Rarefaction Curve • Number of feeding roosts observed on X axis • Richness on Y axis • Includes 95% confidence interval

11. Results • 44 species in 37 genera dispersed by bats: compared to 24 for large birds, 22 for primates • Adds 28 species in 18 genera not previously known • 36 trees, 6 woody vines, 1 non-woody vine • Seed sizes: 12 small, 31 medium, 6 large

12. Minimum Dispersal Distance Mean= 55.7m Median= 30.2m Range= 0.2-320.5m • Likely increases plant establishment • 37 of 49 too large for bats to swallow • Small ingested seeds may be dispersed further

13. Notable Aspects of Study • 20% of submontane tree flora of the region dispersed by fruit bats • Africa may have more bat-dispersed species than currently recognized • May be particularly important in fragmented and degraded habitats • Bats may continue to disperse seeds after primates and other large vertebrates disappear • More research needed!

14. Connections With Our Class • Symbiosis-Mutualism • Succession • Keystone Species • Ecosystem Services • Threats to Biodiversity

15. Questions?