Premium
Seed Dispersal by the Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) in South India 1
Author(s) -
Sreekumar P. G.,
Balakrishnan M.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
biotropica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.813
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1744-7429
pISSN - 0006-3606
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2002.tb00564.x
Subject(s) - sloth , seed dispersal , biological dispersal , germination , biology , dry season , ecology , population , botany , demography , sociology
Previous studies have shown that sloth bears are mainly myrmecophagous, but in this study, 39 and 83 percent (wet and dry season, respectively) of scats surveyed in South India contained fruits. Seeds from three of six plant species collected from scats germinated faster than seeds not passing through bears; germination percentage was not higher in any of the six species. These results suggest that the sloth bear may play an important role in the population dynamics of fleshy‐fruited species of the region.