The brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) is an omnivorous large mammal that has an essential function in many ecosystems as a seed disperser. We studied the brown bear’s role as a seed dispersal agent in a mixed temperate forest in northern Anatolia, Turkey. We collected 197 fecal samples from the field during the brown bear’s active period for two consecutive years. We extracted seeds of 34 plant taxa from fecal samples. Among these taxa, 29 had intact seeds, whereas seeds of 5 were found to be entirely or mostly physically damaged. Damaged seeds belonged to fruits of acorn, capsule, nut, and drupe-like nut types, while no or few seeds from fleshy fruits such as berry, drupe, pome, and rosehip types had damage. Seeds from pome type fruits of Malus sylvestris and Pyrus elaeagnifolia had a higher germination percentage in feces than in the control (fresh seeds collected from the field), but that was quite the opposite in berries of Lonicera caucasica and Vaccinium arctostaphylos. No difference in germination percentage was found between feces and control groups in seeds from rosehips. Our results reveal that seeds of several species found in the study area are dispersed by the brown bear, especially those with fleshy fruits (e.g., Rosaceae members). In this study, we established the role of the brown bear as a seed dispersal agent in northern Anatolian mixed temperate forests. Our study suggests that fruit type is a determinant of the success of endozoochorous seed dispersal by the brown bear.

棕熊（Ursus arctos L.）是杂食性的大型哺乳动物，在许多生态系统中具有作为种子分散剂的基本功能。我们研究了土耳其安纳托利亚北部温带混交林中棕熊作为种子分散剂的作用。我们连续两年从棕熊活动期间收集了197份粪便样品。我们从粪便样本中提取了34种植物类群的种子。在这些分类单元中，有29个种子完整，而5个种子则完全或大部分受到了物理破坏。损坏的种子属于橡果，荚膜，坚果和核果状坚果类型的果实，而肉质水果（如浆果，核果，石榴和玫瑰果类型）的种子则没有或仅有少量受损。苹果属和樟子松的果实型种子梨（Pyrus elaeagnifolia）的粪便中的发芽率高于对照（从田间收集的新鲜种子），但是在忍冬属植物和忍冬越橘中则相反。玫瑰果种子的粪便和对照组之间的发芽率没有差异。我们的结果表明，在研究区域中发现的几种物种的种子被棕熊驱散，尤其是那些有肉质果实的种子（例如蔷薇科成员）。在这项研究中，我们确定了棕熊在安纳托利亚北部温带混交林中作为种子分散剂的作用。我们的研究表明，果实类型是棕熊能否成功传播内生食虫种子的决定因素。