The foraging of gibbons have profound implications not only for their own survival but for the entire tropical forest ecosystem. Gibbons are categorised as highly effective, specialised seed dispersers. Unlike many rodents or some monkey species that act as seed predators by chewing and destroying seeds, or spitting them out directly beneath the parent tree, gibbons typically swallow seeds intact along with the fruit pulp.
Because gibbons maintain large home ranges, and traverse distances fast, seeds in their gastrointestinal tract are transported far from the parent plant. Upon defecation, these seeds are deposited across the forest floor. Seeds passed through the gibbon digestive tract frequently exhibit enhanced germination rates. Gibbons are directly responsible for the propagation of diverse tropical flora, including globally threatened and endangered tree species.
When gibbons are extirpated from a forest patch due to hunting or fragmentation, this causes wider ecological changes. Without gibbons to disperse the seeds of large-fruited trees, forest regeneration slows and stalls, fundamentally altering the future of the ecosystem. Consequently, the successful rehabilitation and conservation translocation of gibbons serves a dual purpose: restoring an endangered primate population and re-establishing a critical ecological function within the recipient habitat. However, for this to be successful, released gibbons need to have the skills and experience of how to find, process and consume wild fruits.