1. Collecting interaction data to build frugivory or seed dispersal networks is logistically challenging in ecosystems that have very high plant and animal diversity and/ or where fieldwork is difficult or dangerous. Consequently, the majority of available networks are from ecosystems with low species diversity or they represent a subset of the community.2. Here, we propose an approach applying local ecological knowledge (LEK) of indigenous communities to build quantitative interaction databases and networks that would otherwise be difficult to achieve with direct observations. Indigenous communities live in many hyper-diverse ecosystems and the people within these communities often have detailed knowledge of ecological processes. Working in a Sundaland biodiversity hotspot-Royal Belum State Park, PeninsularMalaysia-we used visually oriented interviews with indigenous people (Orang Asli, in the Jahai and Temiar ethnic subgroups), field data and published records to collate interactions, and their estimated frequency of occurrence, of animal fruit consumption and seed dispersal. 4. We documented 2,063 fruit consumption and 1,360 seed dispersal interactions among 164 plant species and 34 animal taxa, the latter representing groups of closely related species or individual species. The majority of the interactions (97%) were identified by the LEK interviews, with the additional methods (field data and published records) used to support and marginally expand the interview data. The metrics for the networks we built reflect those of networks structured by biological mechanisms, supporting the validity of our novel approach. 5. LEK is highly relevant for building detailed databases for ecological interactions in hyper-diverse and/or challenging ecosystems. Such ecosystems are among the most vulnerable on earth, harbouring ecological interactions that are often poorly documented at a community level. We show how LEK can broaden our knowledge of such sensitive ecosystems, but our approach is useful for any ecosystem in which people hold rich LEK. | 2043Methods in Ecology and Evoluঞon ONG et al.

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) have inhabited almost all forests in tropical Asia until recently, yet little is known about their role in ecological processes, particularly in the Sundaic forests of SouthEast Asia. These forests are peculiar in their phenology, with supra-annual and highly irregular episodes of mast fruiting. Here, we present a long-term (6-year) monitoring of the seeds dispersed by elephants in dipterocarp forests of northern Peninsular Malaysia. We conducted monthly dung surveys at two mineral licks (11.3 km apart) frequently visited by elephants. Additionally, we recorded haphazard observations of seeds and seedlings in elephant dung at other locations. We recorded a minimum of 48 morphospecies from at least 25 plant families dispersed by elephants. Elephant seed dispersal was very heterogenous in space, with only 30.3% of the morphospecies dispersed at both sites (Jaccard dissimilarity index = 0.48). Temporally, elephants dispersed seeds in sporadic pulses of abundance and diversity, without any apparent seasonality (seeds appeared in 19.1% of 1,284 dung piles and 57.1% of the 63 months in which we found dung) and with long periods without any seed being dispersed. Nearly half (48%) of the plants dispersed by elephants belong to a megafaunal dispersal syndrome. Our long-term approach allowed us to unravel an important aspect of Asian elephants' role and effectiveness in the seed dispersal cycle. Sundaland's forests are undergoing a rapid loss of their previously common megaherbivores (rhinos and elephants), with profound and long-term consequences for ecosystem functioning.

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