Primate Seed Dispersal, Seed Germination and Tree Regeneration: Systematic Review of the Contributions of Primate Seed Dispersal to Seed Germination & Regeneration in Tropical Forests

One of the ecological shocks escalating in recent years is the decline of large-bodied primates. The hunters' preference for games with more significant body mass, which have more economic benefits than small-bodied animals, may be blamed. The fragmentation of forests causes a reduction in habitat size, leaving numerous primates vulnerable to extinction. An ecosystem with fewer giant primates may have reduced dispersal of large seeds, reduced germination and recruitment of the larger tree seedlings, and eventually reduced regeneration of large-seeded tree species. The integrity of such communities, ecosystems, and forests as a whole may be devastated. Several studies have established primates as a key component of tropical forest dispersal networks. However, no single study has synthesized studies from primate seed dispersal, seed germination, and tree regeneration into a coherent whole, exposing the components of the various interactions. The CEE guidelines for systematic reviews enabled the careful extraction of qualitative and quantitative metadata from 126 publications. The research revealed twenty years of increased publication of research on ‘Primate seed Dispersal’.