Data from: The biodiversity of plant-frugivore interactions: types, functions, and consequences

Pairwise plant-frugivore mutualistic interactions build up into
mega-diverse networks involving dozens of interacting species, being among
the most generalized interactions occurring in free-living species. These
mutualisms consist of food provisioning by plants and their counterpart,
plant propagule (seeds) movement by the animals, being crucial for the
natural vegetation regeneration in many ecosystems. Yet we are far from
understanding which part of this enormous interaction biodiversity is
needed for their maintenance. I overview the diversity of interaction
modes involved in these mutualisms, the main components of the seed
dispersal services, and their functional diversity. I examine how
interaction richness covaries with partner species richness at different
scales, resulting in variable patterns of species complementarities in
terms of seed dispersal effects. The functionality of most generalized
plant-frugivore mutualisms relies on complementarity of effects across a
high diversity of partners, yet frequently depends on just a distinct
subset of them, resulting in high functional redundancy. Two distinct
aspects are relevant: 1) variable quantitative effects among species; 2)
variable pairwise-interaction outcomes, between the extremes of antagonism
and mutualism. Frugivory, occurring at the final stage of each plant
reproductive episode, entails a large, cumulative, effect of other biotic
interactions occurring at earlier stages (e.g., floral herbivory,
pollination, pre-dispersal fruit damage). I examine how plant-frugivore
interactions mix-up with the whole biotic interactome of a plant, using
the Prunus mahaleb system as a case study. The effects of distinct subsets
of frugivores combine with different sets of antagonistic and mutualistic
partners in other interactions, yet having a lasting signal on final seed
dispersal success.