Feeding preference and seed dispersion by Roussetus madagascariensis Grandidier 1928 in North-western Madagascar

Feeding preference and seed dispersion by Roussetus madagascariensis Grandidier 1928 in North-western Madagascar. - Experiments in a flight cage and observations in the field were carried out in North-western Madagascar to study the feeding preference of Rousettus madagascariensis (Family Pteropodidae) between an introduced fruit, jujube (Ziziphus jujuba, Family Rhamanceae) and an endemic fig (Ficus sakalavarum, Family Moraceae) during the dry season, in May and June 2009. We also investigated quantitative aspects of seed dispersion by R. madagascariensis. Juvenile bats (13) fed intensively on F sakalavarum, while adults (20) ate both fruit species but with a pronounced preference for unripe Z. jujube fruits. This preference for unripe (immature) fruit, the seeds of which are too large to swallow, suggested that R. madagascariensis does not affect seed dispersal in Z. jujuba. Almost half of the ingested seeds of sakalavarum were found in faeces of R. madagascariensis voided during the night in the flight cage, and the remainder was found in regurgitated 'ejecta' pellets. Rousettus madagascariensis is thought to be an effective seed disperser of F sakalavarum, particularly for isolated trees or those in forest fragments where other frugivores are rare.