Modifications of the rainforest frugivore community are associated with reduced seed removal at the community level

Tropical rainforests worldwide are under increasing pressure from human activities, which are altering key ecosystem processes such as plant-animal interactions. However, while the direct impact of anthropogenic disturbance on animal communities has been well studied, the consequences of such defaunation for mutualistic interactions such as seed dispersal remains chiefly understood at the plant species level. We asked whether communities of endozoochorous tree species had altered seed removal in forests affected by hunting and logging and if this could be related to modifications of the frugivore community. At two contrasting forest sites in French Guiana, Nouragues (protected) and Montagne de Kaw (hunted and partly logged), we focused on four families of animal-dispersed trees (Sapotaceae, Myristicaceae, Burseraceae and Fabaceae) which represent 88 % of all endozoochorous trees which were fruiting at the time and location of the study.  We assessed the abundance of the seed dispersers ...