ArticleScientific reports2021
Oilbirds disperse large seeds at longer distance than extinct megafauna.
Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Oilbirds performing non-seasonal intra-tropical migrations reduce flight effort compared to individuals that frequently return to the colony roost.Movement ecology · 2026Article
- Context-dependent plant-bird interactions shape polychory across the antagonism-mutualism continuum.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Pollination and dispersal networks in the Amazonian tree flora.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Arboreal camera trap reveals the frequent occurrence of a frugivore-carnivore in neotropical nutmeg trees.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- The mutualism-antagonism continuum in Neotropical palm-frugivore interactions: from interaction outcomes to ecosystem dynamics.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2022Review
- Epizoochory in Parrots as an Overlooked Yet Widespread Plant-Animal Mutualism.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
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4 authors.
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Abstract
The extinction of megafauna in the Neotropics is thought to have reduced the potential of large seeds to be dispersed over long distances by endozoochory (ingestion by animals), but some seed dispersal systems have not been considered. We describe the role of oilbirds (Steatornis caripensis) as seed dispersers, in terms of seed width and dispersal distance (using GPS tracking devices), and we compare with data reported for other animals. Oilbirds dispersed seeds up to 29 mm wide, with a mean dispersal distance of 10.1 km (range 0-47.6 km). Some components of seed dispersal by oilbirds are outliers compared to that of other frugivores, such as the relationship between maximum seed width and body weight (however, few other extant specialized frugivores are also outliers). Estimates of mean dispersal distance by oilbirds are the largest reported, and we confirm that some living frugivores currently fulfil roles of seed dispersers and ecosystem services previously assumed to be only performed by extinct species.
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