Data from: Extremely long-distance seed dispersal by an overfished Amazonian frugivore

Throughout Amazonia, overfishing has decimated populations of fruit-eating
fishes, especially the largebodied characid, Colossoma macropomum. During
lengthy annual floods, frugivorous fishes enter vast Amazonian
floodplains, consume massive quantities of fallen fruits and egest viable
seeds. Many tree and liana species are clearly specialized for
icthyochory, and seed dispersal by fish may be crucial for the maintenance
of Amazonian wetland forests. Unlike frugivorous mammals and birds, little
is known about seed dispersal effectiveness of fishes. Extensive mobility
of frugivorous fish could result in extremely effective,
multi-directional, long-distance seed dispersal. Over three annual flood
seasons, we tracked fine-scale movement patterns and habitat use of wild
Colossoma, and seed retention in the digestive tracts of captive
individuals. Our mechanistic model predicts that Colossoma disperses seeds
extremely long distances to favourable habitats. Modelled mean dispersal
distances of 337–552 m and maximum of 5495 m are among the longest ever
reported. At least 5 per cent of seeds are predicted to disperse 1700–2110
m, farther than dispersal by almost all other frugivores reported in the
literature. Additionally, seed dispersal distances increased with fish
size, but overfishing has biased Colossoma populations to smaller
individuals. Thus, overexploitation probably disrupts an ancient
coevolutionary relationship between Colossoma and Amazonian plants.