EFFECTS OF HUMAN DISTURBANCES ON THE SEED DISPERSAL BY BATS COMMUNITIES ON THE ANDEAN CHOCÓ

Abstract

In the northwest of Pichincha (Ecuador), the last tropical forests of the Chocó located in the Mashpi mountains have been fragmented due to deforestation and cattle ranching. We identified four different types of habitats in the area, based on the conservation status and management strategies: primary forest (PF), secondary forest in natural regeneration (SF1), secondary forest in assisted regeneration (SF2), and pastures for cattle (P). This research analyzed how the disturbances of each habitat influence the seed communities dispersed by understory fruit bats. Additionally, we studied the availability of plant resources that these animals can disperse in each habitat. In our results, anthropogenic disturbances caused significant changes in the natural dynamics of seed dispersal in disturbed habitats (SF1, SF2, and P). These alterations are delaying the processes of secondary succession and species recruitment, making it difficult to predict the successional trajectories that these habitats will follow in the future.