A comparison of nutritional value of native and alien food plants for a critically endangered island flying-fox

Habitat loss and alteration are two of the biggest threats facing insular flying-foxes. Altered habitats are often re-vegetated with introduced or domestic plant species on which flying-foxes may forage. However, these alien food plants may not meet the nutritional requirements of flying-foxes. The critically endangered Christmas Island flying-fox (CIFF; Pteropus natalis) is subject to habitat alteration and the introduction of alien food plants, and therefore is a good model species to evaluate the potential impact of alien plant species on insular flying-foxes. In this study, we evaluated nutritional content of native food plants to determine how flying-foxes historically met their nutritional requirements. Furthermore, we compared the nutritional content of native and alien fruits to predict possible impacts of alien plants on insular flying-foxes. Native and alien fruits and flowers, and native foliage (leaves, petals, and petioles) commonly consumed by the CIFF were collected and evaluated for soluble sugars, crude protein, non-fiber carbohydrates, and nine minerals. Evaluation of native food plants suggests that flying-foxes meet energy requirements by consuming fruit and nectar. However, fruit and nectar are low in protein and essential minerals required for demanding life periods; therefore, flying-foxes likely supplement their diets with pollen and foliage. Thus, flying-foxes require a diverse array of plants to meet their nutritional requirements. Compared to native fruits, alien fruits contained significantly higher non-fiber carbohydrates, and this may provide an important energy source, particularly from species that bear fruit year-round. Median mineral concentrations in alien fruit species, however, were deficient compared to native fruits, suggesting major (or even seasonal) shifts in the proportion of alien species in the CIFF diet could lead to nutritional imbalances. This study confirms the need to quantify nutritional parameters in addition to feeding ecology when evaluating habitat quality to inform conservation actions that can be applied both locally and globally.

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Evidence of chronic cadmium exposure identified in the critically endangered Christmas Island flying-fox (Pteropus natalis)

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144374 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 766 ◽

pp. 144374

Author(s):

Laura A. Pulscher ◽

Rachael Gray ◽

Robert McQuilty ◽

Karrie Rose ◽

Justin A. Welbergen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cadmium Exposure ◽

Critically Endangered ◽

Christmas Island ◽

Flying Fox

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Elucidating the diet and foraging ecology of the island flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus) in Peninsular Malaysia through Illumina Next-Generation Sequencing

10.7287/peerj.preprints.2547v1 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Sheema Abdul Aziz ◽

Gopalasamy Reuben Clements ◽

Lee Yin Peng ◽

Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz ◽

Kim R McConkey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Next Generation Sequencing ◽

Plant Species ◽

Foraging Ecology ◽

Peninsular Malaysia ◽

Next Generation ◽

Flying Foxes ◽

Plant Parts ◽

New Family ◽

Generation Sequencing ◽

Flying Fox

There is an urgent need to identify and understand the ecosystem services provided by threatened animal species such as flying foxes. The first step towards this is to obtain comprehensive data on their diet. However, the volant and nocturnal nature of flying foxes presents a challenging situation, and conventional microhistological approaches to studying their diet can be laborious and time-consuming, and provide incomplete information. We used Illumina Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) as a novel, non-invasive method for analysing the diet of the island flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus) on Tioman Island, Peninsular Malaysia. Through NGS analysis of flying fox droppings over eight months, we identified at least 29 Operationally Taxonomic Units comprising the diet of this giant pteropodid, spanning 19 genera and 18 different plant families, including one new family not previously recorded for pteropodid diet. NGS was just as successful as conventional microhistological analysis in detecting plant taxa from droppings, but also uncovered six additional plant taxa. The island flying fox’s diet appeared to be dominated by figs (Ficus sp.), which was the most abundant plant taxon detected in the droppings every single month. Our study has shown that NGS can add value to the conventional microhistological approach in identifying food plant species from flying fox droppings. However, accurate and detailed identification requires a comprehensive database of the relevant plant DNA, which may require collection of botanical specimens from the study site. Although this method cannot be used to quantify true abundance or proportion of plant species, nor plant parts consumed, it ultimately provides a very important first step towards identifying plant taxa in pteropodid diet.

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Human-modified landscapes provide key foraging areas for a threatened flying mammal: The grey-headed flying-fox

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0259395 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (11) ◽

pp. e0259395

Author(s):

Samantha H. Yabsley ◽

Jessica Meade ◽

John M. Martin ◽

Justin A. Welbergen

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Habitat Management ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Foraging Habitat ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

Flying Foxes ◽

Mobile Species ◽

Flying Fox

Urban expansion is a major threat to natural ecosystems but also creates novel opportunities that adaptable species can exploit. The grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) is a threatened, highly mobile species of bat that is increasingly found in human-dominated landscapes, leading to many management and conservation challenges. Flying-fox urbanisation is thought to be a result of diminishing natural foraging habitat or increasing urban food resources, or both. However, little is known about landscape utilisation of flying-foxes in human-modified areas, and how this may differ in natural areas. Here we examine positional data from 98 satellite-tracked P. poliocephalus for up to 5 years in urban and non-urban environments, in relation to vegetation data and published indices of foraging habitat quality. Our findings indicate that human-modified foraging landscapes sustain a large proportion of the P. poliocephalus population year-round. When individuals roosted in non-urban and minor-urban areas, they relied primarily on wet and dry sclerophyll forest, forested wetlands, and rainforest for foraging, and preferentially visited foraging habitat designated as high-quality. However, our results highlight the importance of human-modified foraging habitats throughout the species’ range, and particularly for individuals that roosted in major-urban environments. The exact plant species that exist in human-modified habitats are largely undocumented; however, where this information was available, foraging by P. poliocephalus was associated with different dominant plant species depending on whether individuals roosted in ‘urban’ or ‘non-urban’ areas. Overall, our results demonstrate clear differences in urban- and non-urban landscape utilisation by foraging P. poliocephalus. However, further research is needed to understand the exact foraging resources used, particularly in human-modified habitats, and hence what attracts flying-foxes to urban areas. Such information could be used to modify the urban foraging landscape, to assist long-term habitat management programs aimed at minimising human-wildlife conflict and maximising resource availability within and outside of urban environments.

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Elucidating the diet and foraging ecology of the island flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus) in Peninsular Malaysia through Illumina Next-Generation Sequencing

10.7287/peerj.preprints.2547 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Sheema Abdul Aziz ◽

Gopalasamy Reuben Clements ◽

Lee Yin Peng ◽

Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz ◽

Kim R McConkey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Next Generation Sequencing ◽

Plant Species ◽

Foraging Ecology ◽

Peninsular Malaysia ◽

Next Generation ◽

Flying Foxes ◽

Plant Parts ◽

New Family ◽

Generation Sequencing ◽

Flying Fox

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Invasion patterns of seven alien plant species along roadsides in southern mountainous areas of Yunnan Province

Biodiversity Science ◽

10.3724/sp.j.1003.2008.08001 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 369 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Zhao Jinli ◽

Ma Youxin ◽

Zhu Hua ◽

Li Hongmei ◽

Li Wenjun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Yunnan Province ◽

Mountainous Areas ◽

Alien Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Invasion Patterns

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Does the invasion of Northern Red Oak Quercus rubra in parkland influence the diversity of birds?

Biologia ◽

10.1515/biolog-2017-0022 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 72 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Emilia Grzędzicka ◽

Katarzyna Kowalik ◽

Barbara Bacler-Żbikowska

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Bird Species ◽

Coal Industry ◽

Alien Plants ◽

Forest Birds ◽

Bird Diversity ◽

Red Oak ◽

Northern Red Oak ◽

Alien Plant Species ◽

Alien Plant

AbstractInvasive plants are non-native, but in most cases naturalised, species that have successfully spread outside of their native range. Aliens invaded all habitats, are competing with native plants, thus, after the direct destruction of habitats, invasions are recognised as the second largest danger for biodiversity. Northern Red Oak is one of the most common invasive tree species dispersed primarily by birds, but new studies have shown that it is also spread continuously in a forest stand. The main aim of our research was to check how strong is the invasion of Northern Red Oak in Silesia Park, where it was introduced together with other alien plant species, and how this invasion interacts with bird diversity. Silesia Park was created 65 years ago on the surface largely ravaged by coal industry. Because many studies indicate birds as vectors of alien plants invasion, we examined the bird fauna in a described area, looking for species that can contribute to spreading oaks. Research showed the diversity of 50 bird species. Surface with a presence of Northern Red Oak was characterised by greater participation of alien plant species than the patch of natural forest, which existed there long before the park creation. The greatest bird diversity was found in the most natural part of Silesia Park, and the lowest in the area of invasion, especially in the case of species classified as “forest birds”. The presence of alien plants increased number of “non-forest” birds, mostly synanthropic species. We also found that Northern Red Oak spreads by spontaneous seed dispersal.

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