Recording species interactions is one of the main challenges in ecological studies. Frugivory has received much attention for decades as a model for mutualisms among free-living species, and a variety of methods have been designed and developed for sampling and monitoring plant–frugivore interactions. The diversity of techniques poses an important challenge when comparing, combining or replicating results from different sources with different methodologies. With the emergence of modern techniques, such as molecular analysis or multimedia remote recorders, issues when combining data from different sources have become especially relevant. We provide an overview of all the techniques used for monitoring endozoochorous primary seed dispersal, focusing on a critical appraisal of the advantages and limitations, as well as the context-dependency nature, of the different methods. We propose five data merging approaches potentially useful to combine frugivory interactions data from different methodologies. Additionally, we provide two case studies where we combine empirical data from plant–animal interactions in Mediterranean shrublands using different methodologies. Data merging resulted in a net increase in the number of distinct pairwise interactions recorded and compensated biases inherent to different methods, resulting in a more robust estimation of network topological descriptors. These case studies clarify the context-dependent character of the merging approaches, highlighting the value of collecting detailed information on the sampling effort in terms of reliable results and reproducibility. Finally, we discuss the trends with different methodological approaches used in the last decades and future perspectives in this field.

中文翻译：

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植物 - 食果动物相互作用研究中的方法学概述和数据合并方法

记录物种相互作用是生态学研究的主要挑战之一。几十年来，食果动物作为自由生活物种之间互惠共生的模型受到了广泛关注，并且已经设计和开发了多种方法来采样和监测植物与食果动物的相互作用。在使用不同方法比较、组合或复制来自不同来源的结果时，技术的多样性提出了重要挑战。随着现代技术的出现，例如分子分析或多媒体远程记录器，组合来自不同来源的数据时的问题变得尤为重要。我们概述了用于监测内生动物初级种子传播的所有技术，重点是对优点和局限性以及环境依赖性性质的批判性评估，的不同方法。我们提出了五种数据合并方法，这些方法可能有助于组合来自不同方法的水果交互数据。此外，我们提供了两个案例研究，其中我们使用不同的方法结合了地中海灌木丛中植物-动物相互作用的经验数据。数据合并导致记录的不同成对交互的数量净增加，并补偿了不同方法固有的偏差，从而对网络拓扑描述符进行了更稳健的估计。这些案例研究阐明了合并方法的上下文相关特征，强调了收集有关采样工作的详细信息在可靠结果和可重复性方面的价值。最后，