The timing of frugivore-mediated seed dispersal effectiveness

The seed dispersal effectiveness framework allows assessing mutualistic services from frugivorous animals in terms of quantity and quality. Quantity accounts for the number of seeds dispersed and quality for the probability of recruitment of dispersed seeds. Research on this topic has largely focused on the spatial patterns of seed deposition because seed fates often vary between microhabitats due to differences in biotic and abiotic factors. However, the temporal dimension has remained completely overlooked despite these factors – and even local disperser assemblages – can change dramatically during long fruiting periods. Here, we test timing effects on seed dispersal effectiveness, using as study case a keystone shrub species dispersed by frugivorous birds and with a fruiting period of nine months. We evaluated quantity and quality in different microhabitats of a Mediterranean forest and different periods of the fruiting phenophase. We identified the bird species responsible for seed ...