The importance of species interactions: impacts of animal-mediated seed dispersal on tropical tree demography and evolution

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Tropical rainforests are the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth, yet are being rapidly altered and destroyed by humans. Understanding the dispersal of plants and animals within these forests is fundamental to understanding the structure, functioning, and diversity of these ecosystems, and will ultimately allow us to make informed, scientifically-based conservation decisions. Dispersal of organisms changes local abundance and alters species distributions -the two facets of study that define the very field of ecology. For vast numbers of plant species, movement of individuals is dependent on the outcome of interactions with both seed-dispersing and seed-predating animals. This complex interplay of animal-plant interactions determines large-scale patterns of biodiversity and fundamental traits of ecosystems. Despite the central importance of the study of dispersal, critical gaps remain in our understanding of its ecology and evolution.