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Boiten G, Dekegel S, Tagg N, Willie J. Defaunation is known to have pervasive, negative effects on tropical forests, but this is not the whole story. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0290717. [PMID: 37651368 PMCID: PMC10470957 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Ecosystem functioning and integrity are affected by the loss of large-bodied animals, and comprehending when and how ecosystems are affected is an important goal of defaunation ecology. Despite considerable investigation, our understanding is incomplete. Previous research is biased towards the study of seed dispersal in the Neotropics. This study examined whether and how defaunation affects stem density, species diversity, species composition, spatial distribution, and dispersal mode composition of young understorey plants in an Afrotropical setting. Rectangular plots along transects and wedge-shaped plots under focal trees of five mammal-dispersed species were used to compare three sites representing a defaunation gradient in the Dja faunal reserve in Cameroon. Results showed no change in stem density. Woody plant diversity was highest in the most defaunated site, and compositional differences were noted. Under focal trees, the overall abundance of both seedlings and juveniles was similar. The most defaunated site had the highest number of seedlings far from parent trees. More juvenile stems occurred near parent trees in the least defaunated site. This surprising trend might result from fruit dispersal by small, surviving animals and humans more easily collecting fruits, for food or medicinal purposes, in defaunated, more accessible sites. Negligible or no differences in the abundance of animal-dispersed species and other dispersal modes emerged. This study highlights the roles of extant taxa as surrogate providers of ecological services in defaunated Afrotropical forests. Hence, functional compensation is a serious possibility. Additionally, conceptual models of defaunation consequences that exclude the role of humans may not reflect real-world situations. Overall, these investigations suggest that tropical forests, especially those where ecological niches are less partitioned, may be more resilient to defaunation pressures than is often assumed. Effectively conserving extant, and perhaps less iconic, animal species provides hope for defaunated forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gust Boiten
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Steffi Dekegel
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Nikki Tagg
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Born Free Foundation, Horsham, United Kingdom
| | - Jacob Willie
- Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
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2
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Durand‐Bessart C, Cordeiro NJ, Chapman CA, Abernethy K, Forget P, Fontaine C, Bretagnolle F. Trait matching and sampling effort shape the structure of the frugivory network in Afrotropical forests. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 237:1446-1462. [PMID: 36377098 PMCID: PMC10108259 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Frugivory in tropical forests is a major ecological process as most tree species rely on frugivores to disperse their seeds. However, the underlying mechanisms driving frugivore-plant networks remain understudied. Here, we evaluate the data available on the Afrotropical frugivory network to identify structural properties, as well as assess knowledge gaps. We assembled a database of frugivory interactions from the literature with > 10 000 links, between 807 tree and 285 frugivore species. We analysed the network structure using a block model that groups species with similar interaction patterns and estimates interaction probabilities among them. We investigated the species traits related to this grouping structure. This frugivory network was simplified into 14 tree and 14 frugivore blocks. The block structure depended on the sampling effort among species: Large mammals were better-studied, while smaller frugivores were the least studied. Species traits related to frugivory were strong predictors of the species composition of blocks and interactions among them. Fruits from larger trees were consumed by most frugivores, and large frugivores had higher probabilities to consume larger fruits. To conclude, this large-scale frugivory network was mainly structured by species traits involved in frugivory, and as expected by the distribution areas of species, while still being limited by sampling incompleteness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clémentine Durand‐Bessart
- Biogeosciences, UMR 6282Université Bourgogne Franche Comte‐CNRS21000DijonFrance
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la ConservationCESCO, UMR 7204, MNHN‐CNRS‐SU75005ParisFrance
| | - Norbert J. Cordeiro
- Department of Biology (mc WB 816)Roosevelt University430 S. Michigan AvenueChicagoIL60605USA
- Science & EducationThe Field Museum1400 S. Lake Shore DriveChicagoIL60605USA
| | - Colin A. Chapman
- Wilson Center1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NWWashingtonDC20004USA
- Department of AnthropologyCenter for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington UniversityWashingtonDC20037USA
- School of Life SciencesUniversity of KwaZulu‐NatalScottsville3201PietermaritzburgSouth Africa
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal ConservationNorthwest University710069Xi'anChina
| | - Katharine Abernethy
- African Forest Ecology Group, School of Natural SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingFK9 4LAUK
- Institut de Recherches en Ecologie TropicaleCENARESTGros Bouquet2144LibrevilleGabon
| | - Pierre‐Michel Forget
- Muséum National d'Histoire NaturelleUMR 7179 MECADEV CNRS‐MNHN1 Avenue du Petit Château91800BrunoyFrance
| | - Colin Fontaine
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la ConservationCESCO, UMR 7204, MNHN‐CNRS‐SU75005ParisFrance
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Mason B, Petrzelkova KJ, Kreisinger J, Bohm T, Cervena B, Fairet E, Fuh T, Gomez A, Knauf S, Maloueki U, Modry D, Shirley MH, Tagg N, Wangue N, Pafco B. Gastrointestinal symbiont diversity in wild gorilla: a comparison of bacterial and strongylid communities across multiple localities. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:4127-4145. [PMID: 35661299 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Revised: 04/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are Critically Endangered and show continued population decline. Consequently, pressure mounts to better understand their conservation threats and ecology. Gastrointestinal symbionts, such as bacterial and eukaryotic communities, are believed to play vital roles in the physiological landscape of the host. Gorillas host a broad spectrum of eucaryotes, so called parasites, with strongylid nematodes being particularly prevalent. While these communities are partially consistent, they are also shaped by various ecological factors, such as diet or habitat type. To investigate gastrointestinal symbionts of wild western lowland gorillas, we analysed 215 faecal samples from individuals in five distinct localities across the Congo Basin, using high-throughput sequencing techniques. We describe the gut bacterial microbiome and genetic diversity of strongylid communities, including strain-level identification of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs). We identified strongylid ASVs from eight genera and bacterial ASVs from twenty phyla. We compared these communities across localities, with reference to varying environmental factors among populations, finding differences in alpha diversity and community compositions of both gastrointestinal components. Moreover, we also investigated covariation between strongylid nematodes and the bacterial microbiome, finding correlations between strongylid taxa and Prevotellaceae and Rikenellaceae ASVs that were consistent across multiple localities. Our research highlights complexity of the bacterial microbiome and strongylid communities in several gorilla populations and emphasizes potential interactions between these two symbiont communities. This study provides a framework for ongoing research into strongylid nematode diversity, and their interactions with the bacterial microbiome, amongst great apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bethan Mason
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.,Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences
| | - Klara J Petrzelkova
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences.,Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences.,Liberec Zoo, Liberec, Czech Republic
| | | | - Torsten Bohm
- African Parks, Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of, Congo
| | | | - Emilie Fairet
- SFM Safari Gabon, Loango National Park, Gabon.,Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Andres Gomez
- Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota
| | - Sascha Knauf
- Institute of International Animal Health / One Health, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald - Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Ulrich Maloueki
- African Parks, Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of, Congo
| | - David Modry
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.,Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences.,Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources/CINeZ, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague
| | - Matthew H Shirley
- SFM Safari Gabon, Loango National Park, Gabon.,Institute of Environment, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
| | - Nikki Tagg
- Project Grands Singes, , Centre for Research and Conservation, Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp
| | | | - Barbora Pafco
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences
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Hardy OJ, Delaide B, Hainaut H, Gillet J, Gillet P, Kaymak E, Vankerckhove N, Duminil J, Doucet J. Seed and pollen dispersal distances in two African legume timber trees and their reproductive potential under selective logging. Mol Ecol 2019; 28:3119-3134. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.15138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Revised: 04/24/2019] [Accepted: 05/09/2019] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Olivier J. Hardy
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Unit CP 160/12 Faculté des Sciences Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
| | - Boris Delaide
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Unit CP 160/12 Faculté des Sciences Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
| | - Hélène Hainaut
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Unit CP 160/12 Faculté des Sciences Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
| | - Jean‐François Gillet
- TERRA Teaching and Research Centre Forest is Life Gembloux Agro‐Bio Tech Université de Liège Gembloux Belgium
- Nature Forest Environment Freelance in Tropical Forestry Porcheresse Belgium
| | - Pauline Gillet
- TERRA Teaching and Research Centre Forest is Life Gembloux Agro‐Bio Tech Université de Liège Gembloux Belgium
| | - Esra Kaymak
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Unit CP 160/12 Faculté des Sciences Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
| | - Nina Vankerckhove
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Unit CP 160/12 Faculté des Sciences Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
| | - Jérôme Duminil
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Unit CP 160/12 Faculté des Sciences Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
- DIADE, IRD Univ Montpellier Montpellier France
- Bioversity International Forest Genetic Resources and Restoration Programme Sub‐Regional Office for Central Africa Messa, Yaoundé Cameroon
| | - Jean‐Louis Doucet
- TERRA Teaching and Research Centre Forest is Life Gembloux Agro‐Bio Tech Université de Liège Gembloux Belgium
- Nature+ asbl Wavre Belgium
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Gut microbiomes of wild great apes fluctuate seasonally in response to diet. Nat Commun 2018; 9:1786. [PMID: 29725011 PMCID: PMC5934369 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04204-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2014] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The microbiome is essential for extraction of energy and nutrition from plant-based diets and may have facilitated primate adaptation to new dietary niches in response to rapid environmental shifts. Here we use 16S rRNA sequencing to characterize the microbiota of wild western lowland gorillas and sympatric central chimpanzees and demonstrate compositional divergence between the microbiotas of gorillas, chimpanzees, Old World monkeys, and modern humans. We show that gorilla and chimpanzee microbiomes fluctuate with seasonal rainfall patterns and frugivory. Metagenomic sequencing of gorilla microbiomes demonstrates distinctions in functional metabolic pathways, archaea, and dietary plants among enterotypes, suggesting that dietary seasonality dictates shifts in the microbiome and its capacity for microbial plant fiber digestion versus growth on mucus glycans. These data indicate that great ape microbiomes are malleable in response to dietary shifts, suggesting a role for microbiome plasticity in driving dietary flexibility, which may provide fundamental insights into the mechanisms by which diet has driven the evolution of human gut microbiomes. Microbiota composition fluctuates in response to changes in environmental and lifestyle factors. Here, Hicks et al. show that the faecal microbiota of wild gorillas and chimpanzees is temporally dynamic, with shifts that correlate with seasonal rainfall patterns and periods of high and low frugivory.
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Haurez B, Tagg N, Petre CA, Brostaux Y, Boubady A, Doucet JL. Seed dispersal effectiveness of the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla
) in Gabon. Afr J Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.12449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Haurez
- TERRA Teaching and Research Center; Central African Forests; Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech; University of Liège; Gembloux Belgium
- Nature Plus NPO; Wavre Belgium
- École Régionale Post-Universitaire d'Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT); Kinshasa Democratic Republic of Congo
| | - Nikki Tagg
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS); Antwerp Zoo Centre for Research and Conservation; Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA); Antwerpen Belgium
| | - Charles-Albert Petre
- TERRA Teaching and Research Center; Central African Forests; Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech; University of Liège; Gembloux Belgium
- Projet Grands Singes (PGS); Antwerp Zoo Centre for Research and Conservation; Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA); Antwerpen Belgium
- Conservation Biology Unit; Directorate Natural Environment; Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences; Brussels Belgium
| | - Yves Brostaux
- TERRA Teaching and Research Center; Central African Forests; Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech; University of Liège; Gembloux Belgium
| | - Armand Boubady
- Institut de recherche en écologie tropicale; Cenarest; Libreville Gabon
| | - Jean-Louis Doucet
- TERRA Teaching and Research Center; Central African Forests; Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech; University of Liège; Gembloux Belgium
- École Régionale Post-Universitaire d'Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT); Kinshasa Democratic Republic of Congo
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Petre CA, Tagg N, Beudels-Jamar RC, Haurez B, Doucet JL. Western lowland gorilla seed dispersal: Are seeds adapted to long gut retention times? ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2015.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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The role of great apes in seed dispersal of the tropical forest tree species Dacryodes normandii (Burseraceae) in Gabon. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467415000322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Abstract:The identification of seed dispersers and predators is essential to understand the effect of anthropogenic disturbances, and the associated defaunation process, on tropical forest dynamics in Central Africa. In this study, the animals involved in seed predation and dispersal of Dacryodes normandii (Burseraceae), an endozoochorously dispersed tree species endemic to Gabonese forests, were identified in a site in south-east Gabon using two complementary methods: direct observation and camera-trap monitoring of fruit piles. The combined sampling effort (172 h of direct observations and 796 d of camera trapping) led to the identification of six disperser and eight predator species of D. normandii seeds. With high frequency of consumption (88% and 57% of their visits, respectively) and long visit duration (83 and 23 min, respectively), the western lowland gorilla and central chimpanzee were identified as the main dispersers of this species. Seeds passed through the gorilla gut exhibited high germination success (68%). Rodents were identified as predators of D. normandii seeds, potentially displaying rare secondary dispersal through scatter-hoarding. The results of this study highlight the importance of great apes in the seed dispersal of this tree species.
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