. ▁Results ▁suggest ▁that ▁an ▁absence ▁of ▁verte br ate ▁dispers ers ▁can ▁change ▁the ▁structure ▁and ▁divers ity ▁of ▁for ests . ▁As ▁a ▁result , ▁a ▁plant ▁community ▁that ▁re lies ▁on ▁animals ▁for ▁dispers al ▁could ▁potentially ▁have ▁an ▁alter ed ▁b iod iversity , ▁species ▁domin ance , ▁surv ival , ▁dem ography , ▁and ▁spatial ▁and ▁gen etic ▁structure . ▁ ▁Po aching ▁is ▁likely ▁to ▁alter ▁plant ▁composition ▁because ▁the ▁interactions ▁between ▁game ▁and ▁plant ▁species ▁var ies ▁in ▁strength . ▁Some ▁game ▁species ▁interact ▁strongly , ▁weak ly , ▁or ▁not ▁at ▁all ▁with ▁species . ▁A ▁change ▁in ▁plant ▁species ▁composition ▁is ▁likely ▁to ▁be ▁a ▁result ▁because ▁the ▁net ▁effect ▁removal ▁of ▁game ▁species ▁var ies ▁among ▁the ▁plant ▁species ▁they ▁interact ▁with . ▁ ▁Effect s ▁on ▁small - b od ied ▁seed ▁dispers ers ▁and ▁pred ators ▁▁ ▁As ▁large - b od ied ▁verte br ates ▁are ▁increasing ly ▁lost ▁from ▁seed - dis pers al ▁networks , ▁small - b od ied ▁seed ▁dispers ers ▁( i . e . ▁b ats , ▁birds , ▁d ung ▁be et les ) ▁and ▁seed ▁pred ators ▁( i . e . ▁rod ents ) ▁are ▁affected . ▁Def a un ation ▁leads ▁to ▁reduced ▁species ▁divers ity . ▁This ▁is ▁due ▁to ▁relax ed ▁competition ; ▁small - b od ied ▁species ▁normally ▁comp ete ▁with ▁large - b od ied ▁verte br ates ▁for ▁food ▁and ▁other ▁resources . ▁As