Linking colony size with quantitative estimates of ecosystem services of African fruit bats

Abstract

Animal-mediated seed dispersal is a pivotal component of functioning forest ecosystems all over the globe. Animals that disperse seeds away from their parental plants increase the seeds' chances of survival by releasing them from competition and specialised predators and so contribute to maintain the biodiversity of forests. Furthermore, seeds dispersed into deforested areas provide the opportunity for reforestation. Forest regeneration especially depends on animals that cover large distances easily and cross forest gaps, in particular large-bodied frugivores or mobile species such as birds and bats. Yet, frugivores have started to disappear from forests everywhere, with potentially dramatic consequences for forest composition, regeneration and overall forest biomass. Identifying which species contribute substantially to the dispersal of viable seeds, and how these services are affected by fluctuations in population size, is thus pivotal to the understanding and conservation of forest ecosystems.