Fruit availability and dispersal processes in a highly fragmented landscape in the northeastern Brazilian Atlantic Forest region [Elektronische Ressource] / vorgelegt von Ute Christiane Knörr

Institut für Systematische Botanik und Ökologie Universität Ulm Fruit availability and dispersal processes in a highly fragmented landscape in the northeastern Brazilian Atlantic Forest region Dissertation Zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades Dr. rer. nat. Fakultät für Naturwissenschaften der Universität Ulm vorgelegt von Ute Christiane Knörr aus Mönchengladbach 2010 Amtierender Dekan: Prof. Dr. Axel Groß Erstgutachter: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Gottsberger Zweitgutachter: Prof. Dr. Steven Jansen Tag der Promotion: 08.06.2010 “The most insidious kind of extinction is the extinction of ecological interactions” Daniel H. Janzen, 1974 Table of contents Acknowledgements...........................................................................................V Summary ....................................................................................................... VII Zusammenfassung............................................................................................X 1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Tropical fruits, seeds, and dispersal ....................................................... 1 1.2 The Atlantic Forest – a history of deforestation and fragmentation....... 3 1.3 Aims and hypotheses................................................