DOCSLIB.ORG

Seed Dispersal and Frugivory: Ecological Consequences for Tree

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Seed Dispersal and Frugivory: Ecological Consequences for Tree Seed Dispersal and Frugivory: Ecological Consequences for Tree Populations and Bird Communities Von der Fakultät für Mathematik, Informatik und Naturwissenschaften - Fachbereich 1 - der Rheinisch - Westfälischen Technischen Hochschule Aachen zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktors der Naturwissenschaften genehmigte Dissertation vorgelegt von Diplom-Biologin Bärbel Bleher aus Urach, jetzt Bad Urach Berichter: Universitätsprofessor Dr. rer. nat. Ingolf Schuphan Universitätsprofessor Dr. rer. nat. Hermann Wagner Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 13. September 2000 If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me? T. Blixen dedicated to my parents CONTENTS 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 1.2 SEED DISPERSAL BY ANIMALS AND CONSEQUENCES FOR PLANTS 1 1.2 FRUIT AVAILABILITY AND CONSEQUENCES FOR FRUGIVOROUS ANIMALS 2 1.3 RELEVANCE FOR CONSERVATION 3 1.4 AIMS OF THESIS 4 2. SEED DISPERSAL BY BIRDS IN A SOUTH AFRICAN AND A MALAGASY COMMIPHORA SPECIES 7 2.1 INTRODUCTION 7 2.2 THE TREES 8 2.3 STUDY SITES 9 2.4 METHODS 10 2.4.1 FRUGIVORE DIVERSITY 10 2.4.2 TREE OBSERVATIONS 10 2.4.3 FRUIT TRAPS 10 2.5 RESULTS 11 2.6 DISCUSSION 16 2.7 SUMMARY 19 3. CONSEQUENCES OF FRUGIVORE DIVERSITY FOR SEED DISPERSAL, SEEDLING ESTABLISHMENT AND THE SPATIAL PATTERN OF SEEDLINGS AND TREES 21 3.1 INTRODUCTION 21 3.2 STUDY SITES AND SPECIES 22 3.2.1 STUDY SITES 22 3.2.2 STUDY SPECIES 23 3.3 METHODS 24 3.3.1 SEED DISPERSAL 24 3.3.1.1 Fruit traps 24 3.3.1.2 Tree observations 25 3.3.2 SEEDLING ESTABLISHMENT, DISPERSAL BENEFIT AND SEEDLING DISTRIBUTION 25 3.3.2.1 Seedling establishment 25 3.3.2.2 Benefit of seed dispersal 26 3.3.2.3 Seedling distribution 27 3.3.3 SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF TREES 28 3.3.3.1 Field data 28 3.3.3.2 Computer simulation 28 3.4 RESULTS 29 3.4.1 SEED DISPERSAL 29 3.4.2 SEEDLING ESTABLISHMENT, DISPERSAL BENEFIT AND SEEDLING DISTRIBUTION 32 3.4.2.1 Seedling establishment 32 3.4.2.2 Benefit of seed dispersal 33 3.4.2.3 Seedling distribution 33 3.4.3 SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF TREES 35 3.4.3.1 Field data 35 3.4.3.2 Computer simulation 36 3.5 DISCUSSION 37 3.6 SUMMARY 41 4. SEED DISPERSAL, BREEDING SYSTEM, TREE DENSITY AND THE SPATIAL PATTERN OF TREES 43 4.1 INTRODUCTION 43 4.2 METHODS 44 4.2.1 SIMULATION MODEL 44 4.2.1.1 Tree populations 44 4.2.1.2 Simulation parameters 45 4.2.1.3 Running the simulation 46 4.2.2 DETECTING SPATIAL PATTERNS 46 4.2.3 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS 47 4.3 RESULTS 47 4.3.1 FACTORS INFLUENCING SPATIAL PATTERNS 47 4.3.2 SEED DISPERSAL AND SPATIAL PATTERNS 49 4.3.3 BREEDING SYSTEM AND SPATIAL PATTERNS 50 4.3.4 TREE DENSITY AND SPATIAL PATTERNS 51 4.3.5 START POPULATION AND SPATIAL PATTERNS 51 4.3.6 COMBINED EFFECTS OF DISPERSAL DISTANCE AND TREE DENSITY 52 4.4 DISCUSSION 53 4.5 SUMMARY 56 5. FRUIT AVAILABILITY AND KEYSTONE PLANT SPECIES FOR FRUGIVORES IN A DRY FOREST IN KWAZULU - NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA 59 5.1 INTRODUCTION 59 5.2 STUDY SITE 60 5.2.1 LOCATION 60 5.2.2 CLIMATE 61 5.2.3 VEGETATION 62 5.2.4 FRUGIVORE COMMUNITY 63 5.3 METHODS 63 5.3.1 FRUIT AVAILABILITY AND ABUNDANCE 63 5.3.2 FRUIT UTILIZATION BY THE FRUGIVORE COMMUNITY 64 5.4 RESULTS 64 5.4.1 FRUIT AVAILABILITY AND ABUNDANCE 64 5.4.2 FRUIT UTILIZATION BY THE FRUGIVORE COMMUNITY 67 5.4.2.1 Frugivore community 67 5.4.2.2 Plants used by frugivores 70 5.5 DISCUSSION 73 5.5.1 FRUIT AVAILABILITY 73 5.5.2 FRUGIVORE COMMUNITY 74 5.5.3 RESOURCE UTILIZATION AND KEYSTONE SPECIES 75 5.6 SUMMARY 77 6. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 79 7. REFERENCES 83 8. APPENDIX 96 9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 103 10. CURRICULUM VITAE 105 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION . 1. General Introduction Mutualistic plant-animal interactions exist in a wide variety with one of the most important being seed dispersal or the transport of seeds away from a parent plant by animals (Howe & Westley 1988). Not only plants depend on animals for the dispersal of their seeds, animals, too, rely on plants for fruit as a food resource. Seed dispersal by animals and frugivory have reached their pinnacle in tropical forests, where a percentage of up to 90% of tree and shrub species produce fleshy fruits adapted to animal dispersal and eaten by a large number of vertebrates (Frankie et al. 1974, Foster 1982a, Howe & Smallwood 1982, Howe 1986). Howe & Westley (1988, p.105) state that "one of the exciting challenges of modern ecology is to acquire an understanding of the means by which plants and animals exploit each other to their mutualistic benefit". For this understanding both facets of the mutualistic interaction between animals providing seed dispersal and plants providing fruits as a food resource have to be examined and its consequences for their mutualistic partners determined. 1.2 Seed dispersal by animals and consequences for plants The important role that animals, and especially birds, play in the seed dispersal of tropical plants is well documented (e.g. Howe & Estabrook 1977, Howe & Vande Kerckhove 1981, Howe 1986). In general, three hypotheses have been proposed to explain the benefit of seed dispersal for the plants (Howe & Smallwood 1982). The escape hypothesis assumes that seeds and seedlings might escape from disporportionate mortality near the parent due to pathogens, predators or seedling competition. The colonization hypothesis is applied when seed dispersal might allow the parent plants to establish their offspring in vacant sites. The directed dispersal hypothesis assumes that dispersing agents transport seeds to special microsites critical for germination and establishment. Many studies have been conducted to evaluate these hypotheses, however, although several have supported the first one, results remain controversial and hypotheses are not mutually exlusive (for a review see Clark & Clark 1984). 1 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION . Whatever hypothesis might be applied, in general, the seed shadow or the spatial distribution of seeds around the parent plant shows a peak under and close to the parent tree and a steady decline away (Willson 1992). Fruit-eating animals might alter the shape of the seed shadow and consequently exert varying influence on plants depending on their behavior: animals may drop seeds under the parent plant during fruit handling, destroy them or disperse them from the vicinity of the parent plant. Only in the latter case do they benefit the plant as various studies have shown that survival of seeds and seedlings is higher further away from the parent plant (Janzen 1970, Connell 1971, Augspurger 1983, 1984, Howe et al. 1985). Consequently, seed dispersal is though to affect seedling establishment and the spatial pattern of seedlings and saplings (Fleming & Heithaus 1981, Howe 1986). Differential seedling distribution might be a critical determinant of offspring survival and influence density, spatial patterning and composition of plant communities in general (Fleming & Heithaus 1981, Coates-Estrada & Estrada 1986, Howe 1986). Fruit-eating animals therefore might have a significant influence on the population dynamics of tropical forest communities, however, studies linking animal-mediated seed dispersal and seedling distribution with the spatial pattern and dynamics of plant populations are rare (but see Fleming & Heithaus 1981). 1.2 Fruit availability and consequences for frugivorous animals Complementing the diversity of fruits suitable for consumption by animals is an equivalent diversity of frugivores, i.e. fruit-eating birds and mammals that depend mainly on fleshy fruit. In tropical forests, frugivorous animals are the dominant group of vertebrates. The challenge of frugivores is to find, eat and subsist partly or entirely on fruits that are mostly deficient in protein, but rich in carbohydrates or lipids (Howe & Westley 1988). Fruit availability is one crucial factor influencing the frugivore community (Howe & Estabrook 1977, Thompson & Willson 1979). It appears to be highly variable also in the tropics and marked by periods of scarcity and abundance (Terborgh 1986a). Most phenological studies report seasonality with fruit being more limiting in some seasons than in others for most tropical ecosystems (e.g. Frankie et al. 1974, Foster 1982a). Consequently, frugivorous animals are facing seasonal irregularities in their food resources. Plants providing 2 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION . fruits during periods of low general fruit production play an important role in maintaining entire frugivore communities (Howe 1977). These so-called "keystone resources" have been identified for several forests with figs being of importance (Leighton & Leighton 1983, Terborgh 1986a) as well as a variety of lipid-rich arillate species (Leighton & Leighton 1983, Gautier-Hion & Michaloud 1989). To make the keystone species concept more applicable for conservation, it was recently defined as "a species whose impacts on its community or ecosystem are large, and much larger than would be expected from its abundance" (Power & Mills 1995). Consequently, rather uncommon or rare species might be keystones as compared to abundant dominants. Phenological studies assessing fruit availability and identifying keystone species exist for various tropical forests in the Neotropics and South-East Asia, however, only a few are known for the African continent and none for Southern Africa.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Urban Ecology of the Vervet Monkey Chlorocebus Pygerythrus in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa ______
    Urban Ecology of the Vervet Monkey Chlorocebus pygerythrus in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa __________________________________ Lindsay L Patterson A thesis presented in fulfilment of the academic requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in Ecological Sciences At the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa August 2017 ABSTRACT The spread of development globally is extensively modifying habitats and often results in competition for space and resources between humans and wildlife. For the last few decades a central goal of urban ecology research has been to deepen our understanding of how wildlife communities respond to urbanisation. In the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa, urban and rural transformation has reduced and fragmented natural foraging grounds for vervet monkeys Chlorocebus pygerythrus. However, no data on vervet urban landscape use exist. They are regarded as successful urban exploiters, yet little data have been obtained prior to support this. This research investigated aspects of the urban ecology of vervet monkeys in three municipalities of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), as well as factors that may predict human-monkey conflict. Firstly, through conducting an urban wildlife survey, we were able to assess residents’ attitudes towards, observations of and conflict with vervet monkeys, investigating the potential drivers of intragroup variation in spatial ecology, and identifying predators of birds’ nests. We analysed 602 surveys submitted online and, using ordinal regression models, we ascertained that respondents’ attitudes towards vervets were most influenced by whether or not they had had aggressive interactions with them, by the belief that vervet monkeys pose a health risk and by the presence of bird nests, refuse bins and house raiding on their properties.
    [Show full text]
  • WHY SUCCULENT FLOWERS SEJ by A
    Cape sugarbird WHY SUCCULENT FLOWERS SEJ by A. V. Milewski energy, water and nutrients which are The Field Guide to Trees of not retrieved by the plant, because the Southern Africa by Van Wyk & Van very purpose of fruit-pulp is to be Wyk (Struik 1997) shows the flowers removed from the plant once it is and fruits of trees and tall shrubs in ripe. The more resources the plant the south-western Cape. Of eighty spends on flowers, the less generous it species (excluding conifers) with is likely to be with fruit-pulp. Plants fleshy fruits eaten by birds, 91 % have may be generally faced with a choice small, dull flowers which easily of dispersing pollen or seeds, but not escape the notice of the human both, by avian flight. observer. Members of up to thirty-nine The division between bird-polli­ genera in twenty-five families conform nated and bird-sown plants is clear in in having fly-pollinated flowers and the south-western Cape, which has a bird-sown seeds in the south-western climate with winter rainfall and Cape. Eight percent (e.g. Glllysanthe­ summer drought similar to the maides, Grewia, Solanum) resemble lowers and fTllits vary greatly in Mediterranean Basin. Proteas charac­ many species of cultivated fruits size and how much food they teristic of this area produce large (e.g. apples, plums, raspberries) in Foffer polli nators. The smallest blooms pollinated by sunbirds and having colourful petals attracting flowers are dull greenish, and attract sugarbirds. Olives (Oleaceae) produce medium-size insects such as bees and pollinators no larger than small flies.
    [Show full text]
  • MADAGASCAR: the Wonders of the “8Th Continent” a Tropical Birding Custom Trip
    MADAGASCAR: The Wonders of the “8th Continent” A Tropical Birding Custom Trip October 20—November 6, 2016 Guide: Ken Behrens All photos taken during this trip by Ken Behrens Annotated bird list by Jerry Connolly TOUR SUMMARY Madagascar has long been a core destination for Tropical Birding, and with the opening of a satellite office in the country several years ago, we further solidified our expertise in the “Eighth Continent.” This custom trip followed an itinerary similar to that of our main set-departure tour. Although this trip had a definite bird bias, it was really a general natural history tour. We took our time in observing and photographing whatever we could find, from lemurs to chameleons to bizarre invertebrates. Madagascar is rich in wonderful birds, and we enjoyed these to the fullest. But its mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects are just as wondrous and accessible, and a trip that ignored them would be sorely missing out. We also took time to enjoy the cultural riches of Madagascar, the small villages full of smiling children, the zebu carts which seem straight out of the Middle Ages, and the ingeniously engineered rice paddies. If you want to come to Madagascar and see it all… come with Tropical Birding! Madagascar is well known to pose some logistical challenges, especially in the form of the national airline Air Madagascar, but we enjoyed perfectly smooth sailing on this tour. We stayed in the most comfortable hotels available at each stop on the itinerary, including some that have just recently opened, and savored some remarkably good food, which many people rank as the best Madagascar Custom Tour October 20-November 6, 2016 they have ever had on any birding tour.
    [Show full text]
  • Freshwater Fishes
    WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE state oF BIODIVERSITY 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction 2 Chapter 2 Methods 17 Chapter 3 Freshwater fishes 18 Chapter 4 Amphibians 36 Chapter 5 Reptiles 55 Chapter 6 Mammals 75 Chapter 7 Avifauna 89 Chapter 8 Flora & Vegetation 112 Chapter 9 Land and Protected Areas 139 Chapter 10 Status of River Health 159 Cover page photographs by Andrew Turner (CapeNature), Roger Bills (SAIAB) & Wicus Leeuwner. ISBN 978-0-620-39289-1 SCIENTIFIC SERVICES 2 Western Cape Province State of Biodiversity 2007 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Andrew Turner [email protected] 1 “We live at a historic moment, a time in which the world’s biological diversity is being rapidly destroyed. The present geological period has more species than any other, yet the current rate of extinction of species is greater now than at any time in the past. Ecosystems and communities are being degraded and destroyed, and species are being driven to extinction. The species that persist are losing genetic variation as the number of individuals in populations shrinks, unique populations and subspecies are destroyed, and remaining populations become increasingly isolated from one another. The cause of this loss of biological diversity at all levels is the range of human activity that alters and destroys natural habitats to suit human needs.” (Primack, 2002). CapeNature launched its State of Biodiversity Programme (SoBP) to assess and monitor the state of biodiversity in the Western Cape in 1999. This programme delivered its first report in 2002 and these reports are updated every five years. The current report (2007) reports on the changes to the state of vertebrate biodiversity and land under conservation usage.
    [Show full text]
  • Biodiversity Surveys in the Forest Reserves of the Uluguru Mountains
    Biodiversity surveys in the Forest Reserves of the Uluguru Mountains Part II: Descriptions of the biodiversity of individual Forest Reserves Nike Doggart Jon Lovett, Boniface Mhoro, Jacob Kiure and Neil Burgess Biodiversity surveys in the Forest Reserves of the Uluguru Mountains Part II: Descriptions of the biodiversity of individual Forest Reserves Nike Doggart Jon Lovett, Boniface Mhoro, Jacob Kiure and Neil Burgess Dar es Salaam 2004 A Report for: The Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST) The Uluguru Mountains Biodiversity Conservation Project in collaboration with the Uluguru Mountains Agricultural Development Project The Regional Natural Resources Office, and the Regional Catchment Forest Project With support from the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group TABLE OF CONTENTS PART II 1) Introduction to Part II ............................................................................................................... 4 2) Forest Reserve descriptions ..................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Bunduki I and III Catchment Forest Reserves .................................................................... 7 2.2 Kasanga Local Authority Forest Reserve ......................................................................... 14 2.3 Kimboza Catchment Forest Reserve ................................................................................ 23 2.4 Konga Local Authority Forest Reserve ............................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections
    SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOLUME 131, NUMBER 9 BREEDING AND OTHER HABITS OF CASQUED HORNBILLS (BYCANISTES SUBCYLINDRICUS) (With 6 Plates) By LAWRENCE KILHAM Bethesda, Md. (Publication 4259) CITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION NOVEMBER 8, 1956 THE LORD BALTIMORE PRESS, INC. BALTIMORE, MD., U. S. A. PREFACE I went to Uganda at the invitation of the East African High Com- mission to carry on virus research as a visiting scientist at the Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, where I worked from August 1954 until mid-May 1955. My ornithological observations were made as an ama- teur in the early mornings and evenings, and on weekends. It had been my hope to study some particular field problem in addition to making a general acquaintance with African bird life. The nature of the prob- lem was determined soon after my arrival. In my bird notes, black- and-white casqued hornbills [Bycanistes suhcylindricits (Sclater)] soon took up more pages than any other species. They came to our garden frequently. In addition, a pair of them roosted and carried on courtship activities in a tree above our house. When I discovered a concentration of hornbill nests in the Mpanga Research Forest, it was apparent that I had an unusual opportunity to study the natural history of casqued hornbills. Present studies did not begin until many females were already walled in. A few pairs of late-nesting hornbills, however, enabled me to witness the beginning stages of nesting ac- tivity. Observations on 16 nesting pairs gave, in the aggregate, a rounded picture of breeding and other habits of these birds.
    [Show full text]
  • The Birds (Aves) of Oromia, Ethiopia – an Annotated Checklist
    European Journal of Taxonomy 306: 1–69 ISSN 2118-9773 https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2017.306 www.europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu 2017 · Gedeon K. et al. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Monograph urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A32EAE51-9051-458A-81DD-8EA921901CDC The birds (Aves) of Oromia, Ethiopia – an annotated checklist Kai GEDEON 1,*, Chemere ZEWDIE 2 & Till TÖPFER 3 1 Saxon Ornithologists’ Society, P.O. Box 1129, 09331 Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Germany. 2 Oromia Forest and Wildlife Enterprise, P.O. Box 1075, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. 3 Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Centre for Taxonomy and Evolutionary Research, Adenauerallee 160, 53113 Bonn, Germany. * Corresponding author: [email protected] 2 Email: [email protected] 3 Email: [email protected] 1 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:F46B3F50-41E2-4629-9951-778F69A5BBA2 2 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:F59FEDB3-627A-4D52-A6CB-4F26846C0FC5 3 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:A87BE9B4-8FC6-4E11-8DB4-BDBB3CFBBEAA Abstract. Oromia is the largest National Regional State of Ethiopia. Here we present the first comprehensive checklist of its birds. A total of 804 bird species has been recorded, 601 of them confirmed (443) or assumed (158) to be breeding birds. At least 561 are all-year residents (and 31 more potentially so), at least 73 are Afrotropical migrants and visitors (and 44 more potentially so), and 184 are Palaearctic migrants and visitors (and eight more potentially so). Three species are endemic to Oromia, 18 to Ethiopia and 43 to the Horn of Africa. 170 Oromia bird species are biome restricted: 57 to the Afrotropical Highlands biome, 95 to the Somali-Masai biome, and 18 to the Sudan-Guinea Savanna biome.
    [Show full text]
  • Birding Madagascar 1-22 November 2018
    Birding Madagascar 1-22 November 2018. Trip report compiled by Tomas Carlberg. 1 Front cover Daily log Red-capped Coua, sunbathing in Ankarafantsika National Park. Photo: Tomas Carlberg November 1st Some of us (TC, JN, and RN) flew Air France from Photos Arlanda, Stockholm at 06:00 to Paris, where we © All photos in this report: Tomas Carlberg. met OP (who flew from Gothenburg) and IF (flew For additional photos, see p. 30 ff. from Manchester). An 11 hrs flight took us to Antananarivo, where we landed just before Participants midnight. Once through after visa and passport control we met Zina at the airport. We stayed at IC Tomas Carlberg (Tour leader), Jonas Nordin, Hotel and fell asleep at 01:30. Sweden; Rolf Nordin, Sweden; Olof Persson, Sweden; Jesper Hornskov, Denmark; Eric November 2nd Schaumburg, Denmark; Hans Harrestrup Andersen, Woke up at 6, met the Danes (JH, ES, HW, and Denmark; Hans Wulffsberg, Denmark; Ian Fryer, UK HHA), and had breakfast. Changed c. 400 Euro each Serge “Zina” Raheritsiferana (organizer and driver), and got 1 540 000 ariary… Departure at 7:30 Fidson “Fidy” Albert Alberto (guide), and Lala. heading north towards Ankarafantsika NP. Saw a male Malagasy Harrier c. 16 km south of Ankazobe Correspondence (-18.45915, 47.160156), so stopped for birding [email protected] (Tomas Carlberg) there 9:45-10:05. Stop at 11:40 to buy sandwiches for lunch. Lunch with birding 12:55-13:15. Long Tour organizers transport today… Stopped for birding at bridge Serge “Zina” Raheritsiferana (Zina-Go Travel), over Betsiboka River 16:30-17:30; highlight here Stig Holmstedt.
    [Show full text]
  • Avifaunal Diversity of Bibhutibhushan Wildlife Sanctuary, West Bengal, India
    Available online at www.worldscientificnews.com WSN 71 (2017) 150-167 EISSN 2392-2192 Avifaunal Diversity of Bibhutibhushan Wildlife Sanctuary, West Bengal, India Shiladitya Mukhopadhyay1,* and Subhendu Mazumdar2 1Post Graduate Department of Zoology, Barasat Government College, North 24 Parganas, India 2Department of Zoology, Shibpur Dinobundhoo Institution (College), Shibpur, Howrah, India *E-mail address: [email protected] ABSTRACT Birds are found in a variety of habitats, performing various functions. They are highly sensitive to even minor perturbation in ecosystems. Documentation of avian assemblages in different ecosystems is, therefore, becoming increasingly important from environmental monitoring perspective. In absence of comprehensive account of birds of Bibhutibhushan Wildlife Sanctuary, West Bengal, India, we made an attempt to document the birds thriving in this protected area. A total of 102 species of birds belonging to 13 orders and 46 families were recorded during the study period (June 2013 – May 2016). Maximum number of species belong to the order Passeriformes (49 species) and minimum under order Anseriformes (1 species). Among the total bird species, 83 species (81.37%) were resident, 15 species (14.71%) were winter visitor, three species (2.94%) were summer visitor and one species (0.98%) was passage migrant. We noted 38 species of birds (including 36 residents and two summer visitors) to breed within the sanctuary. Analysis of feeding guild data revealed that 46.08% were insectivore, 22.55% were carnivore, 15.69% were omnivore, 6.86% were granivore, 5.88% were frugivore, 1.96% were nectarivore and 0.98% were herbivore. Grey-headed Fish Eagle (Icthyophaga ichthyaetus) and Red- breasted Parakeet (Psittacula alexandri) are two Near Threatened (NT) species designated by IUCN.
    [Show full text]
  • Towards Resolving Lamiales Relationships
    Schäferhoff et al. BMC Evolutionary Biology 2010, 10:352 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/10/352 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Towards resolving Lamiales relationships: insights from rapidly evolving chloroplast sequences Bastian Schäferhoff1*, Andreas Fleischmann2, Eberhard Fischer3, Dirk C Albach4, Thomas Borsch5, Günther Heubl2, Kai F Müller1 Abstract Background: In the large angiosperm order Lamiales, a diverse array of highly specialized life strategies such as carnivory, parasitism, epiphytism, and desiccation tolerance occur, and some lineages possess drastically accelerated DNA substitutional rates or miniaturized genomes. However, understanding the evolution of these phenomena in the order, and clarifying borders of and relationships among lamialean families, has been hindered by largely unresolved trees in the past. Results: Our analysis of the rapidly evolving trnK/matK, trnL-F and rps16 chloroplast regions enabled us to infer more precise phylogenetic hypotheses for the Lamiales. Relationships among the nine first-branching families in the Lamiales tree are now resolved with very strong support. Subsequent to Plocospermataceae, a clade consisting of Carlemanniaceae plus Oleaceae branches, followed by Tetrachondraceae and a newly inferred clade composed of Gesneriaceae plus Calceolariaceae, which is also supported by morphological characters. Plantaginaceae (incl. Gratioleae) and Scrophulariaceae are well separated in the backbone grade; Lamiaceae and Verbenaceae appear in distant clades, while the recently described Linderniaceae are confirmed to be monophyletic and in an isolated position. Conclusions: Confidence about deep nodes of the Lamiales tree is an important step towards understanding the evolutionary diversification of a major clade of flowering plants. The degree of resolution obtained here now provides a first opportunity to discuss the evolution of morphological and biochemical traits in Lamiales.
    [Show full text]
  • WRA Species Report
    Family: Anacardiaceae Taxon: Harpephyllum caffrum Synonym: NA Common Name: Wild Plum Questionaire : current 20090513 Assessor: Chuck Chimera Designation: L Status: Assessor Approved Data Entry Person: Chuck Chimera WRA Score -1 101 Is the species highly domesticated? y=-3, n=0 n 102 Has the species become naturalized where grown? y=1, n=-1 103 Does the species have weedy races? y=1, n=-1 201 Species suited to tropical or subtropical climate(s) - If island is primarily wet habitat, then (0-low; 1-intermediate; 2- High substitute "wet tropical" for "tropical or subtropical" high) (See Appendix 2) 202 Quality of climate match data (0-low; 1-intermediate; 2- High high) (See Appendix 2) 203 Broad climate suitability (environmental versatility) y=1, n=0 n 204 Native or naturalized in regions with tropical or subtropical climates y=1, n=0 y 205 Does the species have a history of repeated introductions outside its natural range? y=-2, ?=-1, n=0 n 301 Naturalized beyond native range y = 1*multiplier (see y Appendix 2), n= question 205 302 Garden/amenity/disturbance weed n=0, y = 1*multiplier (see n Appendix 2) 303 Agricultural/forestry/horticultural weed n=0, y = 2*multiplier (see n Appendix 2) 304 Environmental weed n=0, y = 2*multiplier (see Appendix 2) 305 Congeneric weed n=0, y = 1*multiplier (see n Appendix 2) 401 Produces spines, thorns or burrs y=1, n=0 n 402 Allelopathic y=1, n=0 n 403 Parasitic y=1, n=0 n 404 Unpalatable to grazing animals y=1, n=-1 n 405 Toxic to animals y=1, n=0 406 Host for recognized pests and pathogens y=1, n=0 n
    [Show full text]
  • Uganda: Shoebill, Albertine Rift Endemics, Green- Breasted Pitta, Gorillas and Chimpanzees Set Departure Trip Report
    UGANDA: SHOEBILL, ALBERTINE RIFT ENDEMICS, GREEN- BREASTED PITTA, GORILLAS AND CHIMPANZEES SET DEPARTURE TRIP REPORT 1-19 AUGUST 2019 By Jason Boyce Yes, I know, it’s incredible! Shoebill from Mabamba Swamp, Uganda www.birdingecotours.com [email protected] 2 | T R I P R E P O R T Uganda 2019 TOUR ITINERARY Overnight Day 1 – Introduction to Uganda’s birding, Entebbe Entebbe Day 2 – Mabamba Swamp and Lake Mburo National Park Lake Mburo Day 3 – Lake Mburo National Park Lake Mburo Day 4 – Mgahinga Gorilla National Park Kisoro Day 5 – Mgahinga Gorilla National Park Kisoro Day 6 – Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Ruhija Ruhija Day 7 – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Ruhija Ruhija Day 8 – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Buhoma Buhoma Day 9 – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Buhoma Buhoma Day 10 – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Buhoma Buhoma Day 11 – Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park Mweya Day 12 – Queen Elizabeth National Park to Kibale National Park Kibale Day 13 – Kibale National Park Kibale Day 14 – Kibale to Masindi Masindi Day 15 – Masindi, Budongo Forest Masindi Day 16 – Masindi to Murchison Falls National Park Murchison Falls Day 17 – Murchison Falls National Park Murchison Falls Day 18 – Transfer to Entebbe Entebbe Day 19 – International Flights Overview Interestingly enough this was one of the “birdier” Uganda tours that I have been on. Birds were generally in good voice, and fair numbers of birds were seen at most of our hotspots. Cuckoos were a little less vocal, but widowbirds, bishops, and weavers were in full breeding plumage and displaying all over the place.
    [Show full text]