Seed production and survival of four dipterocarp species in degraded forests in Singapore

作者：Kwek Yan Chong, Rie Chong, Lorraine Wen Ai Tan, Alex Thiam Koon Yee, Marcus A.H. Chua, K. M. Wong, Hugh Tiang Wah Tan · 发表于：Plant Ecology & Diversity · 年份：2016 · DOI：10.1080/17550874.2016.1266404 · 被引用次数：9 · 研究领域：Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies、Wildlife Ecology and Conservation、Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

Background: Seed production, germination, and seedling survival are crucial processes during community masting events in dipterocarp-dominated rain forest in South-east Asia.Aims: We examine how these processes function in fragmented remnants of dipterocarp forest in Singapore.Methods: Fruits were captured in seed traps and seed fates on the ground were tracked up to 5 months after fruiting for four dipterocarp species during a masting event in 2014; camera traps under each tree recorded seed predators.Results: Long-tailed macaques were the major seed predators, claiming 34% of pre-dispersal seeds. Insect seed predation, primarily by moth larvae, played a relatively minor role, claiming only 9% of seed pre-dispersal and 0.7% post-dispersal. The mean proportion of seeds that escaped post-dispersal predation but failed to germinate was between 5% and 37% for the four species.Conclusions: The non-viability of dipterocarp seeds can be at least as great a concern for forest regeneration as the rate of vertebrate pre-dispersal predation.