Primates are great fruit consumers and disperse intact seeds from most of the plants they consume, but effective seed dispersal depends, amongst other factors, on handling behavior. Likewise, the treatment in gut and mouth may alter seed fate. Overall, frugivore and folivore-frugivore primates are recognized to provide beneficial gut treatment for Neotropical plant species, but this effect might be overlooked at species-specific levels. In this study, we assessed the role of the southern muriqui (Brachyteles arachnoides), an endangered and endemic primate living in restricted fragments of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, on potential quality of seed dispersal of native plants. Our main goals were to understand the effect of seed ingestion by this large-bodied atelid on germination of defecated seeds and in seed recovery by offering wild fruits of native species to captive individuals. We found that seven out of nine plant species were defecated intact and were able to germinate. Of those seven, one species showed enhanced and another showed decreased germination potential after defecation, while three species germinated faster after being defecated. The remaining species showed no differences from control seeds. The two non-germinating species were heavily predated, and average seed recovery was lower than expected, suggesting high levels of seed predation. The largest species offered (Inga vulpina) showed the highest dispersal potential. Our data support an overall neutral or potentially positive role of southern muriquis in seed dispersal quality for seven out of nine Atlantic Forest plant species, highlighting these primates’ potential to produce an effective seed rain.

中文翻译：

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圈养南方鼠尾草（Brachyteles arachnoides）的实验试验揭示了在种子传播中的潜在作用

灵长类动物是水果的主要消费者，它们会从它们食用的大多数植物中传播完整的种子，但有效的种子传播取决于处理行为等因素。同样，肠道和口腔的处理可能会改变种子的命运。总体而言，食果动物和食叶-食果动物灵长类动物被认为可以为新热带植物物种提供有益的肠道治疗，但这种影响可能在物种特异性水平上被忽视。在这项研究中，我们评估了南部 muriqui (Brachyteles arachnoides)，一种生活在巴西大西洋森林的有限碎片中的濒危和地方性灵长类动物，对本地植物种子传播的潜在质量的作用。我们的主要目标是通过向圈养个体提供本地物种的野生果实来了解这种体型大的 atelid 摄入种子对排便种子发芽和种子恢复的影响。我们发现九种植物中有七种被完整地排便并且能够发芽。在这七种中，一种物种在排便后发芽潜力增强，另一种物种在排便后发芽潜力下降，而三种物种在排便后发芽速度较快。其余物种与对照种子没有差异。这两个非发芽物种被严重捕食，平均种子回收率低于预期，表明种子捕食水平很高。提供的最大的物种（Inga vulpina）显示出最高的传播潜力。