Quantity and quality of seed dispersal by a large arboreal frugivore in small and large Atlantic forest fragments - Fig 2

<p><b>Total richness of seed species (A) and the abundance of seeds >2 mm (B) at the fecal sample level.</b> The line within a box represents the median, the red line represents the mean, the box represents the range between the first and third interquartiles (IQR), and the whiskers represent the IQR multiplied by 1.5. Dots represent the fecal samples for each fragment. Boxes sharing no letter are significantly different (contrast tests, p<0.05).</p

Observed and expected richness of seed species dispersed by brown howlers in Atlantic forest fragments in southern Brazil.

<p>Observed and expected richness of seed species dispersed by brown howlers in Atlantic forest fragments in southern Brazil.</p

Rank-abundance graphs of seed species dispersed by brown howlers in each study fragment.

<p>The X-axis ranks species from the most to the least abundant. Species representing ~30% of all dispersed seeds in each fragment are indicated with two letters. Asterisks indicate species with only one (*singletons) or two (**doubletons) seeds. Underlined species dominate tree communities. A.e. = <i>Allophylus edulis</i> (Sapindaceae), B.p. = <i>Banara parviflora</i> (Salicaceae), C.h. = <i>Cereus hildmannianus</i> (Cactaceae), C.m. = <i>Coussapoa microcarpa</i> (Urticaceae), F.a. = <i>Ficus adhatodifolia</i> (Moraceae), F.c. = <i>F</i>. <i>cestrifolia</i>, F.l. = <i>F</i>. <i>luschnathiana</i>, P.g. = <i>Psidium guajava</i>(Myrtaceae), L.b. = <i>Lithraea brasiliensis</i> (Anacardiaceae), M.g. = <i>Myrcia glabra</i> (Myrtaceae). The abundance (proportion of the total number of seeds) of the three most prevalent species in each fragment is also shown.</p

Sample-based rarefaction curves of the seed species richness dispersed by brown howlers in three small (thick red lines) and three large (thick black lines) Atlantic forest fragments.

<p>Dashed and fine lines show 95% confidence intervals. Blue vertical line shows the species richness for the rarified number of fecal samples (n = 225). We used 95% confidence intervals of the moment-based estimator to compare the richness of dispersed seeds among groups [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0193660#pone.0193660.ref038" target="_blank">38</a>]. Different lower case letters in parentheses indicate significant between-group differences.</p

Alpha-diversity of seeds dispersed by brown howlers in six Atlantic forest fragments in southern Brazil.

<p>Diversity comparisons between small fragments (A), large fragments (B), large fragments and each small fragment (C-E), and pooled seed diversity for both habitat types (F). The 95% confidence intervals (CI) for each small fragment are highlighted with red dotted lines. Non-overlapping 95% CIs indicate significant differences in species richness (<i>q</i> = 0), and the diversity of common (<i>q</i> = 1) and dominant (<i>q</i> = 2) species. Significant differences (p<0.05) indicated with asterisks.</p

Patterns of seed handling by brown howlers in six Atlantic forest fragments in southern Brazil.

<p>We used rarefied data to calculate the proportion of records devoted to each seed handling type (n = 937 records per group). The numbers within the bars indicate the percentage. Different letters above bars indicate significant between-fragment differences (p<0.05). Observe that the scales in the Y-axes differ.</p

Top species dispersed by brown howlers and percentage of damaged seeds in six Atlantic forest fragments.

<p>Top species dispersed by brown howlers and percentage of damaged seeds in six Atlantic forest fragments.</p

Microscopic images of representative <i>Oesophagostomum</i> sp. eggs found in the feces of infected primate hosts.

<p>Images were captured at 40× objective magnification from thin smears of sedimented feces. A = blue monkey, B = black and white colobus, C = chimpanzee, D = l'hoest monkey, E = grey-cheeked mangabey, F = olive baboon, G = red-tailed guenon, H = human. All eggs were between 65 and 84 µm long and between 35 and 55 µm wide.</p

Prevalence of <i>Oesophagostomum</i> spp. in nine primate host species (including humans) in and near Kibale National Park, Uganda, based on microscopy and PCR.

<p>Prevalence of <i>Oesophagostomum</i> spp. in nine primate host species (including humans) in and near Kibale National Park, Uganda, based on microscopy and PCR.</p

The Nutritional Geometry of Resource Scarcity: Effects of Lean Seasons and Habitat Disturbance on Nutrient Intakes and Balancing in Wild Sifakas

<div><p>Animals experience spatial and temporal variation in food and nutrient supply, which may cause deviations from optimal nutrient intakes in both absolute amounts (meeting nutrient requirements) and proportions (nutrient balancing). Recent research has used the geometric framework for nutrition to obtain an improved understanding of how animals respond to these nutritional constraints, among them free-ranging primates including spider monkeys and gorillas. We used this framework to examine macronutrient intakes and nutrient balancing in sifakas (<i>Propithecus diadema</i>) at Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar, in order to quantify how these vary across seasons and across habitats with varying degrees of anthropogenic disturbance. Groups in intact habitat experience lean season decreases in frugivory, amounts of food ingested, and nutrient intakes, yet preserve remarkably constant proportions of dietary macronutrients, with the proportional contribution of protein to the diet being highly consistent. Sifakas in disturbed habitat resemble intact forest groups in the relative contribution of dietary macronutrients, but experience less seasonality: all groups’ diets converge in the lean season, but disturbed forest groups largely fail to experience abundant season improvements in food intake or nutritional outcomes. These results suggest that: (1) lemurs experience seasonality by maintaining nutrient balance at the expense of calories ingested, which contrasts with earlier studies of spider monkeys and gorillas, (2) abundant season foods should be the target of habitat management, even though mortality might be concentrated in the lean season, and (3) primates’ within-group competitive landscapes, which contribute to variation in social organization, may vary in complex ways across habitats and seasons.</p></div