SEED DISPERSAL BY RED-RUFFED LEMURS: SEED SIzE, VIABILITY, AND BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON SEEDLING GROwTH

Frugivorous vertebrates play a critical role as seed dispersers of many tropical fruiting plants. In Madagascar, lemurs are the principal dispersers of fruit-bearing plants. This study aims to highlight the potential ecological role of the redruffed lemur (Varecia rubra) in the regeneration of a degraded forest, based on the quantity and size of passed seeds, their viability and germination, and seedling growth. In Masoala National Park, V. rubra groups were followed daily from dawn to dusk to collect fresh fecal samples containing seeds. We determined seed viability by immersion, and created an on-site nursery to compare the germination and growth of emerged seedlings from egested versus non-egested seeds. V. rubra dispersed a diverse group of plant species with mainly large-sized seeds, which remained undamaged by gut passage. Defecated seeds were viable and had a higher germination success than control seeds. There was also increased growth among seedlings of defecated seeds, suggesting V. rubra may play an important role in the regeneration of a degraded habitat through seed dispersal.