My research interests are mainly in animal and plant ecology and focus on the interactions between flora and fauna, especially in (sub-)tropical areas. Hereby I focus on comparing the effectiveness of vertebrates, especially mammals, as plant seed dispersers in terms of costs and benefits of zoochory (dispersal of seeds by animals) for different plant species. The latter can be studied by comparing the germination ability of dispersed seed species. Field research, for example in native forests in Africa, can thus be used to investigate which mammalian species contribute to the dispersal and conservation of certain plant species and which plant species depend on seed dispersal by mammals.