Data from: Long-term monitoring of seed dispersal by Asian elephants in a Sundaland rainforest

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) have inhabited almost all forests in
tropical Asia until recently, yet little is known about their role in
ecological processes, particularly in the Sundaic forests of Southeast
Asia. These forests are peculiar in their phenology, with supra-annual and
highly irregular episodes of mast fruiting. Here we present a long-term
(six-year) monitoring of the seeds dispersed by elephants in dipterocarp
forests of northern Peninsular Malaysia. We conducted monthly dung surveys
at two mineral licks (11.3 km apart) frequently visited by
elephants. Additionally, we recorded haphazard observations of seeds and
seedlings in elephant dung at other locations. We recorded a minimum of 48
morphospecies from at least 25 plant families dispersed by elephants.
Elephant seed dispersal was very heterogenous in space, with only
30.3 % of the morphospecies dispersed at both sites (Jaccard
dissimilarity index = 0.48). Temporally, elephants
dispersed seeds in sporadic pulses of abundance and diversity, without any
apparent seasonality (seeds appeared in 19.1 % of 1,284 dung
piles and 57.1 % of the 63 months in which we found dung) and
with long periods without any seed being dispersed. Nearly half
(48 %) of the plants dispersed by elephants belong to a
megafaunal dispersal syndrome. Our long-term approach allowed us to
unravel an important aspect of Asian elephants’ role and effectiveness in
the seed dispersal cycle. Sundaland’s forests are undergoing a rapid loss
of their previously common megaherbivores (rhinos and elephants), with
profound and long-term consequences for ecosystem functioning.