Forest cover and fruit crop size differentially influence frugivory of select rainforest tree species in Western Ghats, India (Part I)

Forest fragmentation and habitat loss are major disruptors of plant–frugivore interactions, affecting seed dispersal and altering recruitment patterns of tree species dependent on vertebrate dispersers. In a heterogeneous production landscape (primarily tea and coffee plantations) in the southern Western Ghats, India, we examined effects of surrounding forest cover and fruit crop size on frugivory of four rainforest bird-dispersed tree species (N = 131 trees, ≥ 30 trees per species, observed for 623 h). Frugivore composition differed among the four tree species with the large-seeded Canarium strictum and Myristica dactyloides exclusively dependent on large-bodied avian frugivores, whereas, medium-seeded Persea macrantha and Heynea trijuga were predominantly visited by small-bodied and large-bodied avian frugivores, respectively. Using  the seed-dispersal-effectiveness framework, we identified effective frugivores and examined their response to forest cover and fruit crop size. Results w...