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Seed dispersal is one of the most important ecosystem functions globally. It shapes plant populations, enhances forest succession, and has multiple, indirect benefits for humans, yet it is one of the most threatened processes in plant regeneration, worldwide. Seed dispersal distances are determined by the diets, seed retention times and movements of frugivorous animals. Hence, understanding how we can most effectively describe frugivore movement and behaviour with rapidly developing animal tracking technology is key to quantifying seed dispersal. To assess the current use of animal tracking in frugivory studies and to provide a baseline for future studies, we provide a comprehensive review and synthesis on the existing primary literature of global tracking studies that monitor movement of frugivorous animals. Specifically, we identify studies that estimate dispersal distances and how they vary with body mass and environmental traits. We show that over the last two decades there has been a large increase in frugivore tracking studies that determine seed dispersal distances. However, some taxa (e.g. reptiles) and geographic locations (e.g. Africa and Central Asia) are poorly studied. Furthermore, we found that certain morphological and environmental traits can be used to predict seed dispersal distances. We demonstrate that flight ability and increased body mass both significantly increase estimated seed dispersal mean and maximum distances. Our results also suggest that protected areas have a positive effect on mean seed dispersal distances when compared to unprotected areas. We anticipate that this review will act as a reference for future frugivore tracking studies, specifically to target current taxonomic and geographic data gaps, and to further explore how seed dispersal relates to key frugivore and fruit traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous prey traits are the result of the pervasive evolutionary pressure imposed by predators. Mirroring their fundamental role in the fitness of prey, some antipredator defences can evolve into elaborate strategies. Such is the case of the Iberian ribbed newt (Pleurodeles waltl), a semiaquatic urodele that inhabits multiple types of inland waterbodies in central and southern Iberian Peninsula and north‐western Africa. It possesses sharp, protractile ribs, which can thwart predators by emerging through skin 'warts' they pierce, becoming impregnated with the toxicants these warts produce, and making the newts difficult to swallow. Plus, the orange colour of these warts contrasts with the predominantly dull dorsum.In this work, I studied the interactions between the number of these warts, the saliency of wart colour against dorsum colour of each individual (i.e., the difference in colour between the warts and the dorsum), rib response time (i.e., the time needed for the ribs to emerge in response to a standardised stimulus), body size, and locomotor performance in males and females in either their aquatic or terrestrial stage. I also conducted a field experiment to determine whether predators more frequently attacked plasticine models with conspicuous or inconspicuous warts.I found that wart colour saliency functions as a decoy, attracting predator attacks towards this well‐protected body part. Plus, many of the antipredator defences studied, namely the number of warts, their colour saliency, rib response time, body size, and locomotor performance, were interrelated.Accordingly, more salient warts indicated a faster rib response, suggesting that these defences are coordinated with each other. Plus, locomotion was considerably slower in the terrestrial than in the aquatic stage. Moreover, warts were more salient, and thus more efficient attracting predator attacks, in newts in the slower terrestrial stage. However, rib response was faster in the aquatic stage, which coincides with the newt's activity peak, and therefore with the height of its conspicuousness to predators. Remarkably, faster newts display less salient warts and a slower rib response, which suggests a trade‐off between both defences. Nonetheless, some of these trends are reversed in females, among which faster individuals also display a faster rib response. This could be a likely consequence of reduced predation pressure.These results further the understanding of how prey integrate and tune multiple antipredator defences according to factors that influence predation pressure, such as sex and life stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]