Project Timeline: January - April, 2024
People: Bindu K, Rohit Naniwadekar
Collaborators: H. N. Kumara
Funding: Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies; Scientific Engineering and Research Board
What We Do?
Seed dispersal is a key ecological process in tropical forests. While different disperser species provide different seed dispersal services due to differences in morphology and ecology, social hierarchy, sexual dimorphism and individual personalities within a species can also influence seed dispersal outcomes. We looked at intraspecific differences in seed dispersal services provided by lion-tailed macaque, a Western Ghats endemic frugivorous primate. We examined if there were differences across age-sex categories in several aspects of seed dispersal, including the diversity and quantity of fruits consumed, number of seeds dispersed, movement rates and seed deposition substrates. Our study showed that the differences across age-sex categories vary between troops, suggesting group-level variations in seed dispersal.
Why This Matters?
Lion-tailed macaques are primarily frugivorous primates endemic to the Western Ghats. This study highlights the relative roles played by different age-sex categories in dispersal of native and non-native species in a human-modified landscape, which is crucial for understanding forest recovery and invasive species dynamics.
Key Findings
Fruit consumption across age-sex categories varied among troops, indicating idiosyncratic contributions by different age-sex categories across troops in seed dispersal.
LTMs mainly disperse small-seeded fruit species away from the parent tree through defecation.
Females likely contributed more to Ficus seed dispersal due to higher fruit consumption and defecation.
LTMs played a limited role in dispersing non-native species by predating on L. camara seeds and mostly spitting Coffea beans under the mother plant.
Publications
Kempegowda, B., Kumara, H. N., & Naniwadekar, R. (2025). Age and Sex Influence Seed Dispersal of Native and Non‐Native Plants by Lion‐Tailed Macaques. Biotropica, 57(6), e70106. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70106