ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

i | P a g e Large animals are disproportionately prone to extinction, and the resulting effects on ecosystem processes are unclear. Megaherbivores—animals weighing over 1000 kg—are thought to be functionally unique in their contribution to many ecological processes. One such ecosystem process is seed dispersal, but few studies have measured the relative importance of a megaherbivore species and sympatric seed dispersers. This dissertation explores how the loss of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) would affect the dispersal of three large-fruited tree species. Research was conducted in Buxa Tiger Reserve, India, a disturbed tropical forest system resembling much of the region. I found that elephants were a top frugivore of all three tree study species: Dillenia indica (chalta), Careya arborea (kumbhi), and Artocarpus chaplasha (lator). The main alternative frugivores were domestic bovids (the cow, Bos primigenius, and the buffalo, Bubalus bubalis), and Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Elephants consumed the most D. indica fruit; once eaten, seeds from D. indica were over 16 times more likely to pass undigested into elephant dung than into the dung of domestic bovids. Elephants ate 18 % an