Figure

The Flying Fox or Fruit Bat (pictured) plays a major role in rainforest plant dispersal and, particularly for the Lauraceae, ‘[they] play a vital role in the maintenance of species-rich tropical forests … bats are among the most effective long distance dispersers of tropical seeds. This is particularly true of Old World flying foxes (especially species of Pteropus) which can carry seeds many miles – sometimes between islands in the southwest Pacific – in their nightly foraging trips.’ [179].