1. Collecting interaction data to build frugivory or seed dispersal networks is logistically challenging in ecosystems that have very high plant and animal diversity and/or where fieldwork is difficult or dangerous. Consequently, the majority of available networks are from ecosystems with low species diversity or they represent a sub-set of the community. 2. Here, we propose an approach using local ecological knowledge (LEK) of indigenous communities to build interaction databases and weighted networks that would...

1. Large-bodied animals play irreplaceable roles in seed dispersal, partly due to their capacity to disperse large seeds. Understanding this role at a community level has been limited by the paucity of network studies that include large vertebrates, and the almost complete absence of studies including synzoochoric dispersers. Synzoochoric dispersers can disperse seeds disproportionately large for their body size, potentially overlapping the roles of large-bodied animals. A comprehensive network, inclusive of large vertebrates and synzoochorous...

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) have inhabited almost all forests in tropical Asia until recently, yet little is known about their role in ecological processes, particularly in the Sundaic forests of Southeast Asia. These forests are peculiar in their phenology, with supra-annual and highly irregular episodes of mast fruiting. Here we present a long-term (six-year) monitoring of the seeds dispersed by elephants in dipterocarp forests of northern Peninsular Malaysia. We conducted monthly dung surveys at two...