Beyond the forest canopy: contrasting strategies of frugivory and seed dispersal across tropical forest–savanna–grassland gradients

Frugivory and seed dispersal play critical roles in plant reproduction, population dynamics and ecosystem functioning, while contributing to ecological restoration and climate change mitigation. However, current research largely focused on tropical forests, leaving significant gaps in our understanding of these processes in open biomes such as savannas and grasslands. Using a database of seed dispersal syndromes and seed dispersal distances across 103 Neotropical sites, 51 fruit–frugivore interaction networks, and fruit traits for 1068 plant species and 247 frugivores, we explored: 1) variation in the proportion of vertebrate‐dispersed seed syndromes, 2) primary seed dispersal distances; 3) fruit and seed sizes; 4) nestedness, modularity and specialization in fruit–frugivore networks; and 5) frugivory degree of birds across forest–savanna–grassland gradients. We showed consistent cross‐biome variation in most studied aspects of frugivory and seed dispersal, with Neotropical forests characterized by the dominance of zoochory, longer primary dispersal distances, and interaction networks involving specialized and large diaspores. In turn, Neotropical savannas and grasslands are characterized by predominantly abiotic seed dispersal (which was linked to growth‐forms), shorter dispersal distances (philomatry) and interaction networks composed of plants producing smaller diaspores. We argue that application of forest‐derived paradigms to savannas and grasslands can be problematic and that rethinking and tailoring conceptual frameworks for seed dispersal in grassy biomes can enhance our broad understanding of vital processes across Neotropical biomes. Assessing how dispersal processes vary across biomes will be essential for predicting how genotypes, populations and communities respond to changing climates and defaunation, and to what extent restoration of fruit–frugivore interactions can contribute to biodiversity and ecosystem resilience.