scholarly journals Estimation of gut passage time of wild, free roaming forest elephants

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Beirne ◽  
Chase L. Nuñez ◽  
Melissa Baldino ◽  
Seokmin Kim ◽  
Julia Knorr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Passage Time ◽  
Gut Passage ◽  
Forest Elephants

scholarly journals Long Distance Seed Dispersal by Forest Elephants

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Poulsen ◽  
Christopher Beirne ◽  
Colin Rundel ◽  
Melissa Baldino ◽  
Seokmin Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Passage Time ◽  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Gut Passage ◽  
Average Maximum ◽  
Forest Elephants ◽  
Dispersal Distances

By dispersing seeds long distances, large, fruit-eating animals influence plant population spread and community dynamics. After fruit consumption, animal gut passage time and movement determine seed dispersal patterns and distances. These, in turn, are influenced by extrinsic, environmental variables and intrinsic, individual-level variables. We simulated seed dispersal by forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) by integrating gut passage data from wild elephants with movement data from 96 individuals. On average, elephants dispersed seeds 5.3 km, with 89% of seeds dispersed farther than 1 km. The longest simulated seed dispersal distance was 101 km, with an average maximum dispersal distance of 40.1 km. Seed dispersal distances varied among national parks, perhaps due to unmeasured environmental differences such as habitat heterogeneity and configuration, but not with human disturbance or habitat openness. On average, male elephants dispersed seeds farther than females. Elephant behavioral traits strongly influenced dispersal distances, with bold, exploratory elephants dispersing seeds 1.1 km farther than shy, idler elephants. Protection of forest elephants, particularly males and highly mobile, exploratory individuals, is critical to maintaining long distance seed dispersal services that shape plant communities and tropical forest habitat.

A simple parametric method for reducing sample sizes in gut passage time trials

Ecology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 90 (8) ◽  
pp. 2328-2331 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Rawsthorne ◽  
David A. Roshier ◽  
Sean R. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Parametric Method ◽  
Passage Time ◽  
Sample Sizes ◽  
Gut Passage

scholarly journals Internal dispersal of seeds by waterfowl: effect of seed size on gut passage time and germination patterns

2010 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 555-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordi Figuerola ◽  
Iris Charalambidou ◽  
Luis Santamaria ◽  
Andy J. Green
Keyword(s):  
Seed Size ◽  
Passage Time ◽  
Gut Passage

scholarly journals Adapting Methodology Used on Captive Subjects for Estimating Gut Passage Time in Wild Monkeys

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-432
Author(s):  
Simon David Stringer ◽  
Russell A. Hill ◽  
Lourens Swanepoel ◽  
Nicola F. Koyama
Keyword(s):  
Passage Time ◽  
Gut Passage

Gut passage time and viability of seeds consumed by Australian marsupials

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Beca ◽  
Bryony Palmer ◽  
Leonie E. Valentine ◽  
Todd E. Erickson ◽  
Richard J. Hobbs
Keyword(s):  
Passage Time ◽  
Gut Passage

scholarly journals Chlorophyll a conversion and gut passage time for the pelagic tunicate Oikopleura vanhoeffeni (Appendicularia)

1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 2179-2197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander B. Bochdansky ◽  
Don Deibel ◽  
Elizabeth A. Hatfield
Keyword(s):  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Passage Time ◽  
Gut Passage ◽  
Pelagic Tunicate

scholarly journals Seed dispersal by Ceratogymna hornbills in the Dja Reserve, Cameroon

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
KENNETH D. WHITNEY ◽  
MARK K. FOGIEL ◽  
AARON M. LAMPERTI ◽  
KIMBERLY M. HOLBROOK ◽  
DONALD J. STAUFFER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Germination ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Forest Regeneration ◽  
Germination Rate ◽  
Gut Passage ◽  
Forest Elephants ◽  
Seed Dispersers ◽  
Passage Times

Seed dispersal is a process critical to the maintenance of tropical forests, yet little is known about the interactions of most dispersers with their communities. In the Dja Reserve, Cameroon, seed dispersal by the hornbills Certaogymna atrata, C. cylindricus and C. fistulator (Aves: Bucerotidae) was evaluated with respect to the taxonomic breadth of plants dispersed, location of seed deposition and effects on seed germination. Collectively, the three hornbill species consumed fruits from 59 tree and liana species, and likely provided dispersal for 56 of them. Hornbill-dispersed tree species composed 22% of the known tree flora of the site. Hornbill visit lengths, visit frequencies, and seed passage times indicated that few seeds were deposited beneath parent trees; in five hornbill/tree species pairings studied, 69–100% of the seeds ingested were deposited away from the parent trees. Germination trials showed that hornbill gut passage is gentle on seeds. Of 24 tree species tested, 23 germinated after passage by hornbills; of 17 planted with controls taken directly from trees, only four species showed evidence of inhibition of germination rate, while seven experienced unchanged germinated rates and six experienced enhanced germination rates. Results suggested that Certaogymna hornbill rank among the most important seed dispersers found in Afrotropical forests, and they deserve increased conservation attention. Ceratogymna hornbills are likely to become increasingly important in forest regeneration as populations of larger mammalian seed dispersers (such as forest elephants and primates) diminish.

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