Seed passage through frugivorous bats' gastrointestinal tracts is important in seed dispersal, germination and seedling emergence. We investigated the ingestion and effects of Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bats, Epomophorus wahlbergi, on the germination and seedling emergence of four Ficus species in separate laboratory feeding trials in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. We observed seedling emergence and germination rates for all ingested seeds, whole and de-pulped fruits. Our results showed that ingestion amounts were high and the germination of Ficus seeds was positively influenced by mastication and/or gut passage of E. wahlbergi, underscoring the potential of fruit bats as effective seed dispersers.

中文翻译：

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沃尔伯格肩章果蝠咀嚼和摄入榕属植物的果实是否会促进种子发芽和幼苗出苗？

种子通过食果蝙蝠的胃肠道对于种子传播、发芽和幼苗出现非常重要。我们在南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省的单独实验室饲养试验中研究了沃尔伯格肩章果蝠 ( Epomophorus wahlbergi ) 的摄入及其对四种榕属植物发芽和出苗的影响。我们观察了所有摄入的种子、完整和去果肉的果实的出苗率和发芽率。我们的结果表明，摄入量很高，并且榕树种子的发芽受到E. wahlbergi的咀嚼和/或肠道通过的积极影响，强调了果蝠作为有效种子传播者的潜力。