How far do birds disperse seeds in the degraded tropical landscape of Hong Kong, China?

Information on seed dispersal distances is critical for understanding plant species persistence in habitat fragments and vegetation recovery when disturbance is reduced. In the degraded upland landscape of Hong Kong (22 degrees N), the bulbuls Pycnonotus sinensis and P. jocosus are responsible for a large proportion of seed movements. Dispersal distances were estimated from gut passage times (GPTs) and movement patterns determined by radio-telemetry. Estimates were also made for the hwamei, Garrulax canorus. Seven adult P. sinensis and four adult G. canorus were tracked in winter, and six juvenile P. sinensis, three juvenile P. jocosus and two juvenile G. canorus in summer. GPTs were 5-122 min in the bulbuls and 18-61 min in the hwamei. Most 10min movements were < 100 m for the bulbuls and < 50 m for the hwamei, but the largest were > 1300 m for both bulbuls and 940 m for the hwamei. Displacement-time graphs generally levelled off rapidly, with median displacements < 60 m after an hour, except with summer juvenile bulbuls. Median displacements during median gut passage times for seeds from single-seeded fruits were 40, 116 and 131 m, respectively, for winter adult P. sinensis and summer juvenile P. sinensis and P. jocosus. Maximum observed displacements during the maximum measured GPTs were > 1 km for all bulbuls. Estimated dispersal distances were shorter for hwameis. The radio-telemetry results were supplemented by 49 h of visual observations, during which 1,510 bird movements across open areas were observed, 64% by P. sinensis, 13% by P. jocosus, and 0.5% by G. canorus. The bulbuls, therefore, connect habitat fragments in upland Hong Kong for plants with fruits within their maximum gape width.