1. Collecting interaction data to build frugivory or seed dispersal networks is logistically challenging in ecosystems that have very high plant and animal diversity and/or where fieldwork is difficult or dangerous. Consequently, the majority of available networks are from ecosystems with low species diversity or they represent a subset of the community.
2. Here, we propose an approach applying local ecological knowledge (LEK) of indigenous communities to build quantitative interaction databases and networks that would otherwise be difficult to achieve with direct observations. Indigenous communities live in many hyper-diverse ecosystems and the people within these communities often have detailed knowledge of ecological processes.
3. Working in a Sundaland biodiversity hotspot—Royal Belum State Park, Peninsular Malaysia—we used visually oriented interviews with indigenous people (Orang Asli, in the Jahai and Temiar ethnic subgroups), field data and published records to collate interactions, and their estimated frequency of occurrence, of animal fruit consumption and seed dispersal.
4. We documented 2,063 fruit consumption and 1,360 seed dispersal interactions among 164 plant species and 34 animal taxa, the latter representing groups of closely related species or individual species. The majority of the interactions (97%) were identified by the LEK interviews, with the additional methods (field data and published records) used to support and marginally expand the interview data. The metrics for the networks we built reflect those of networks structured by biological mechanisms, supporting the validity of our novel approach.
5. LEK is highly relevant for building detailed databases for ecological interactions in hyper-diverse and/or challenging ecosystems. Such ecosystems are among the most vulnerable on earth, harbouring ecological interactions that are often poorly documented at a community level. We show how LEK can broaden our knowledge of such sensitive ecosystems, but our approach is useful for any ecosystem in which people hold rich LEK.

中文翻译：

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在高度多样化和具有挑战性的生态系统中建立具有当地生态知识的生态网络

1. 在植物和动物多样性非常高和/或实地工作困难或危险的生态系统中，收集相互作用数据以建立食果或种子传播网络在逻辑上具有挑战性。因此，大多数可用网络来自物种多样性低的生态系统，或者它们代表了社区的一个子集。
2. 在这里，我们提出了一种方法，应用土著社区的当地生态知识 (LEK) 来构建定量交互数据库和网络，否则直接观察很难实现。土著社区生活在许多高度多样化的生态系统中，这些社区内的人们通常对生态过程有详细的了解。
3. 在巽他生物多样性热点地区——马来西亚半岛的皇家贝鲁姆州立公园——我们使用了对土著人（原住民，在 Jahai 和 Temiar 族群中）的视觉导向访谈、实地数据和已发表的记录来整理互动，以及他们估计的频率发生，动物水果消费和种子传播。
4. 我们记录了 164 种植物物种和 34 种动物类群之间的 2,063 种水果消费和 1,360 种种子传播相互作用，后者代表了密切相关的物种或单个物种的群体。LEK 访谈确定了大部分互动 (97%)，并使用其他方法（现场数据和已发布的记录）来支持和略微扩展访谈数据。我们构建的网络的指标反映了由生物机制构建的网络的指标，支持我们新方法的有效性。
5. LEK 与在高度多样化和/或具有挑战性的生态系统中构建生态相互作用的详细数据库高度相关。此类生态系统是地球上最脆弱的生态系统之一，其生态相互作用通常在社区层面记录不足。我们展示了 LEK 如何拓宽我们对此类敏感生态系统的了解，但我们的方法对人们持有丰富 LEK 的任何生态系统都很有用。