Data from: Foraging and movement flexibility shape seed dispersal by an arboreal primate in a modified landscape

As habitats change, the effectiveness of animal-mediated seed dispersal
increasingly depends on animal responses to altered structure and
resources. With habitat loss and degradation accelerating across the
tropics, understanding how foraging behavior and movement influence seed
removal and deposition is critical for promoting forest regeneration. In a
tropical lowland landscape of southeastern Mexico with varying levels of
human disturbance, we studied how black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra)
foraging behavior affects the seed dispersal services they provide.
Additionally, given the species' long gut transit time, we examined
how their movement patterns across different spatial and temporal scales
directly and indirectly shape seed dispersal distance. We found that
habitat disturbance significantly reduced food resource availability and
frugivory levels, limiting the black howler monkeys’ ability to support
natural forest succession through seed dispersal. However, by dispersing
seeds an average of 90.98 ± 59.59 m from the parent plant and 88.23 ±
47.55 m between samples, black howler monkeys may reduce mortality risks
associated with distance- and density-dependent effects. At the smallest
spatiotemporal scale, relative turning angles best predicted
seed-dispersal distance, indicating that goal-oriented movement enhances
animals’ seed-dispersal roles. For black howlers, this may be a necessary
compensatory strategy for navigating lower-quality habitats and
potentially dispersing seeds farther. At broader scales, an increase in
weekly activity areas—driven by low resource availability—increased seed
dispersal distance. Ultimately, our results show that animal responses to
habitat disturbance can influence key processes, such as seed dispersal,
which may affect forest regeneration and ecosystem resilience. These
findings emphasize the importance of understanding animal resilience
dynamics to more accurately predict and manage the long-term impacts of
disturbances on biodiversity and ecosystem health.