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Endozoochory by megafauna enables temperate mountain plants to disperse over long distance. As an endozoochorous agent, Brown Bear may play a unique role through its biology and ecology especially because of its diverse diet (angiosperms, ferns, mosses). However, few studies have been conducted on the dispersal of all angiosperms and none on ferns or mosses. Also, the fact that the faecal matrix could represent a barrier to the germination of dispersed seeds due to various physical or chemical constraints, has often been neglected. In this study, we investigated endozoochory by the European Brown Bear and the faecal matrix effect on germination success. We conducted a seedling emergence monitoring experiment in the greenhouse for seven months to assess seed dispersal potential based on 86 faeces. Each sample was split into two treatments (raw vs. filtered faeces), to test the effect of the faecal matrix on seedling germination and growth. We found that Brown Bear dispersed not only fleshy-fruited plants, but also dry-fruited plants and for the first time among Ursids, ferns and mosses. We also pointed out that the faecal matrix acts as an important barrier for germination with little effect on growth. These results highlight the role of Brown Bears in the dispersal of non-fleshy-fruited plants, and suggest that the spectrum of plant species potentially dispersed by Brown Bear is wider than formerly thought. They also stress the importance of faeces disaggregation on seed dispersal outcomes, a mechanism mediated by abiotic or biotic agents.
Pauly et al. (Wed,) studied this question.