Flying foxes have important roles as and pollinators. They help spread the seeds in the fruit they eat by discarding them in ejecta pellets or through their guano. In Madagascar, fig seeds have better germination success if they have passed through the gut of a flying fox, which is important because fig trees are a vital pioneer species in regenerating lost forest. Even though flying foxes can have a gut transit time as fast as 12 minutes, seeds can be retained in the gut for as long as 20 hours. As the flying foxes travel large distances, seeds can be deposited up to from the parent tree. They are particularly important in fragmented forests, as many other frugivores are terrestrial and often confined to forest fragments.