Mutualistic interactions are biologically important, diverse and poorly understood. Comprehending these interactions and the effectiveness of the mutualistic partners has been the central focus of ecological and evolutionary studies, as this task requires disentangling the pieces of mutualism under study. Here, we tested the hypothesis that feeding activity of Artibeus phaeotis influences density, diversity and distance effects of the seed rain of large-seeded plant species in a Neotropical dry forest of Costa Rica. We predicted that bats’ activity increases density and diversity metrics on dispersing sites and that bats behave as short-distance dispersers. Our data revealed that, by dispersing hundreds of seeds within their small foraging areas and mostly close to fruiting trees, the feeding activity of A. phaeotis increases the density and richness of seeds underneath night feeding roosts. The functional role of A. phaeotis as disperser may vary among plant species, as we also detected that some seeds are more dispersed than others. Further inquiries to elucidate mutualistic interactions between frugivorous bats and large-seeded plant species should focus on understanding demographic and fitness outcomes, as strong selective pressures may be shaping morphological and behavioural traits of both plants and animals, ultimately influencing the survival of each partner.

中文翻译：

---

大种子植物的扩散模式和食果蝙蝠的觅食行为

互惠的相互作用在生物学上是重要的、多样的和知之甚少的。理解这些相互作用和互惠伙伴的有效性一直是生态和进化研究的中心焦点，因为这项任务需要解开正在研究的互惠互利的碎片。在这里，我们检验了以下假设：青蒿影响哥斯达黎加新热带干旱森林中大型种子植物物种种子雨的密度、多样性和距离效应。我们预测蝙蝠的活动会增加分散地点的密度和多样性指标，并且蝙蝠的行为类似于短距离分散者。我们的数据显示，通过将数百颗种子散布在它们的小觅食区域内，并且大多靠近果树，它们的摄食活动A. phaeotis增加夜间喂食栖息地下方种子的密度和丰富度。的功能作用A. phaeotis因为分散器可能因植物物种而异，因为我们还检测到一些种子比其他种子更分散。进一步调查以阐明食果蝙蝠和大型种子植物物种之间的共生相互作用应侧重于了解人口统计和健康结果，因为强大的选择压力可能正在塑造动植物的形态和行为特征，最终影响每个伙伴的生存。