scholarly journals Foraging Interference and Fruit Palatability in Pteropus Scapulatus (Megachiroptera: Pteropodidae): Management Implications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sarah Jessie Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
Cross Pollination ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Eating Fruit ◽  
Fruit Preference ◽  
Competition For Food ◽  
Flying Fox

<p>The “residents and raiders” theory emphasizes the importance of conspecific feeding interference in seed dispersal by frugivorous megachiropterans. Agonistic interactions at fruiting trees frequently result in the “ejection” of one bat, which has often first obtained some fruit. The ejected bat then flies to an unoccupied tree, thus dispersing non-consumed seeds. For seeds too large to be swallowed this may be the sole method of dispersal. Raiding and subsequent seed spread only occur when bat populations are sufficiently large, relative to resources, to cause competition for food. If competition similarly affects nectarivorous bats and their floral resources, decline in a bat population could lead to reduced seed set and genetic diversity in their food-plant species. Pteropus scapulatus (Little Red Flying Fox) visit the flowers of dozens of Australian and New Guinean species and are believed to play an important role in the pollination of Eucalyptus and Melaleuca. Feeding-interference and raiding “success” by P. scapulatus eating fruit at Wellington Zoo (New Zealand) was studied to infer the importance of population size on cross-pollination. Decrease in population-to-resource ratio was correlated with decrease in raiding frequency, suggesting a decreased likelihood of cross pollination. These results highlight the value of management practices that promote the maintenance of large populations of nectarivorous megachiropterans. The effects of dominance and food preference on these behaviours were also evaluated. Dominance was inversely correlated to both dispersal and maturity. Contrary to many reports, females were not always subordinate to males. Fruit preference data may be useful for selecting “distracter” trees in orchards prone to damage by fruit bats and for ex situ husbandry concerns. Implications for population-, orchard-, and captive-management are discussed.</p>

scholarly journals Foraging Interference and Fruit Palatability in Pteropus Scapulatus (Megachiroptera: Pteropodidae): Management Implications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sarah Jessie Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
Cross Pollination ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Eating Fruit ◽  
Fruit Preference ◽  
Competition For Food ◽  
Flying Fox

<p>The “residents and raiders” theory emphasizes the importance of conspecific feeding interference in seed dispersal by frugivorous megachiropterans. Agonistic interactions at fruiting trees frequently result in the “ejection” of one bat, which has often first obtained some fruit. The ejected bat then flies to an unoccupied tree, thus dispersing non-consumed seeds. For seeds too large to be swallowed this may be the sole method of dispersal. Raiding and subsequent seed spread only occur when bat populations are sufficiently large, relative to resources, to cause competition for food. If competition similarly affects nectarivorous bats and their floral resources, decline in a bat population could lead to reduced seed set and genetic diversity in their food-plant species. Pteropus scapulatus (Little Red Flying Fox) visit the flowers of dozens of Australian and New Guinean species and are believed to play an important role in the pollination of Eucalyptus and Melaleuca. Feeding-interference and raiding “success” by P. scapulatus eating fruit at Wellington Zoo (New Zealand) was studied to infer the importance of population size on cross-pollination. Decrease in population-to-resource ratio was correlated with decrease in raiding frequency, suggesting a decreased likelihood of cross pollination. These results highlight the value of management practices that promote the maintenance of large populations of nectarivorous megachiropterans. The effects of dominance and food preference on these behaviours were also evaluated. Dominance was inversely correlated to both dispersal and maturity. Contrary to many reports, females were not always subordinate to males. Fruit preference data may be useful for selecting “distracter” trees in orchards prone to damage by fruit bats and for ex situ husbandry concerns. Implications for population-, orchard-, and captive-management are discussed.</p>

scholarly journals Eristalis flower flies can be mechanical vectors of the common trypanosome bee parasite, Crithidia bombi

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abby E. Davis ◽  
Kaitlin R. Deutsch ◽  
Alondra M. Torres ◽  
Mesly J. Mata Loya ◽  
Lauren V. Cody ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Active Infection ◽  
Osmia Lignaria ◽  
Crithidia Bombi ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
The Common ◽  
Flower Flies ◽  
Bee Communities

AbstractFlowers can be transmission platforms for parasites that impact bee health, yet bees share floral resources with other pollinator taxa, such as flies, that may be hosts or non-host vectors (i.e., mechanical vectors) of parasites. Here, we assessed whether the fecal-orally transmitted gut parasite of bees, Crithidia bombi, can infect Eristalis tenax flower flies. We also investigated the potential for two confirmed solitary bee hosts of C. bombi, Osmia lignaria and Megachile rotundata, as well as two flower fly species, Eristalis arbustorum and E. tenax, to transmit the parasite at flowers. We found that C. bombi did not replicate (i.e., cause an active infection) in E. tenax flies. However, 93% of inoculated flies defecated live C. bombi in their first fecal event, and all contaminated fecal events contained C. bombi at concentrations sufficient to infect bumble bees. Flies and bees defecated inside the corolla (flower) more frequently than other plant locations, and flies defecated at volumes comparable to or greater than bees. Our results demonstrate that Eristalis flower flies are not hosts of C. bombi, but they may be mechanical vectors of this parasite at flowers. Thus, flower flies may amplify or dilute C. bombi in bee communities, though current theoretical work suggests that unless present in large populations, the effects of mechanical vectors will be smaller than hosts.

scholarly journals Identity of mass-flowering crops moderates functional trait composition of pollinator communities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Beyer ◽  
Felix Kirsch ◽  
Doreen Gabriel ◽  
Catrin Westphal
Keyword(s):  
Faba Bean ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Flower Morphology ◽  
Landscape Diversity ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Mass Flowering ◽  
Wild Bee

Abstract Context Pollinator declines and functional homogenization of farmland insect communities have been reported. Mass-flowering crops (MFC) can support pollinators by providing floral resources. Knowledge about how MFC with dissimilar flower morphology affect functional groups and functional trait compositions of wild bee communities is scarce. Objective We investigated how two morphologically different MFC, land cover and local flower cover of semi-natural habitats (SNH) and landscape diversity affect wild bees and their functional traits (body size, tongue length, sociality, foraging preferences). Methods We conducted landscape-level wild bee surveys in SNH of 30 paired study landscapes covering an oilseed rape (OSR) (Brassica napus L.) gradient. In 15 study landscapes faba beans (Vicia faba L.) were grown, paired with respective control landscapes without grain legumes. Results Faba bean cultivation promoted bumblebees (Bombus spp. Latreille), whereas non-Bombus densities were only driven by the local flower cover of SNH. High landscape diversity enhanced wild bee species richness. Faba bean cultivation enhanced the proportions of social wild bees, bees foraging on Fabaceae and slightly of long-tongued bumblebees. Solitary bee proportions increased with high covers of OSR. High local SNH flower covers mitigated changes of mean bee sizes caused by faba bean cultivation. Conclusions Our results show that MFC support specific functional bee groups adapted to their flower morphology and can alter pollinators` functional trait composition. We conclude that management practices need to target the cultivation of functionally diverse crops, combined with high local flower covers of diverse SNH to create heterogeneous landscapes, which sustain diverse pollinator communities.

Soil seed bank and vegetation dynamics in Sahelian fallows; the impact of past cropping and current grazing treatments

2004 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 683-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Hérault ◽  
Pierre Hiernaux
Keyword(s):  
Seed Bank ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Seed Bank ◽  
Residual Effects ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Phosphorus Fertilizer ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Seed Extraction ◽  
The Impact

The soil seed bank in a 5-y-old Sahelian fallow was studied through seed extraction and compared with germinations recorded either in controlled conditions, ex situ in a glasshouse, or in the field. The influence of phosphorus fertilizer and mulch application during the preceding crop period, and that of seasonal grazing regimes applied the last 2 y of fallowing, were assessed on the composition of the seed stock. Ctenium elegans, Fimbristylis hispidula, Merremia pinnata and Phyllanthus pentandrus accounted together for 75% of extracted seeds, 72% of ex situ, and 62% of in situ seedlings. Mulch treatment was correlated with the first axis of the canonical correspondence analyses performed on the seedling datasets. Mulch and phosphorus fertilizer treatments held similar responses, as they both favoured the seed bank of erect dicotyledons such as P. pentandrus and Cassia mimosoides. On the whole, the effects of grazing remained modest compared with the residual effects of past crop management practices. However, seedling densities increased as a result of dry-season grazing, while the soil seed bank decreased with wet-season grazing. Grazing also reduced the spatial heterogeneity of the seed bank rather than the overall number of species.

scholarly journals Conventional wisdom on roosting behaviour of Australian flying foxes -- a critical review, and evaluation using new data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamika Lunn ◽  
Peggy Eby ◽  
Remy Brooks ◽  
Hamish McCallum ◽  
Raina Plowright ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Habitat Modification ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Flying Foxes ◽  
Roosting Ecology ◽  
Roost Trees ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Flying Fox

1. Fruit bats (Family: Pteropodidae) are animals of great ecological and economic importance, yet their populations are threatened by ongoing habitat loss and human persecution. A lack of ecological knowledge for the vast majority of Pteropodid bat species presents additional challenges for their conservation and management. 2. In Australia, populations of flying-fox species (Genus: Pteropus) are declining and management approaches are highly contentious. Australian flying-fox roosts are exposed to management regimes involving habitat modification, either through human-wildlife conflict management policies, or vegetation restoration programs. Details on the fine-scale roosting ecology of flying-foxes are not sufficiently known to provide evidence-based guidance for these regimes and the impact on flying-foxes of these habitat modifications is poorly understood. 3. We seek to identify and test commonly held understandings about the roosting ecology of Australian flying-foxes to inform practical recommendations and guide and refine management practices at flying-fox roosts. 4. We identify 31 statements relevant to understanding of flying-fox roosting structure, and synthesise these in the context of existing literature. We then contribute contemporary data on the fine-scale roosting structure of flying-fox species in south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales, presenting a 13-month dataset from 2,522 spatially referenced roost trees across eight sites. 5. We show evidence of sympatry and indirect competition between species, including spatial segregation of black and grey-headed flying-foxes within roosts and seasonal displacement of both species by little red flying-foxes. We demonstrate roost-specific annual trends in occupancy and abundance and provide updated demographic information including the spatial and temporal distributions of males and females within roosts. 6. Insights from our systematic and quantitative study will be important to guide evidence-based recommendations on restoration and management and will be crucial for the implementation of priority recovery actions for the preservation of these species into the future.

scholarly journals Testing Flowering Perennial Plants in a Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) Lawn

HortScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (10) ◽  
pp. 1642-1646
Author(s):  
Paige E. Boyle ◽  
Michelle M. Wisdom ◽  
Michael D. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Trifolium Repens ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Trifolium Subterraneum ◽  
Lotus Corniculatus ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Prunella Vulgaris ◽  
Vegetative Cover ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Pollinating Insects

Most pollinating insects require a season-long succession of floral resources to fulfill life-cycle requirements. Incorporating forbs into turfgrass sites may create a season-long sequence of flowers to support foraging pollinators. However, persistence of forbs in warm-season turfgrasses such as bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) may be affected by the competitive nature of the turfgrass and routine management practices such as mowing. A 2-year study was conducted to evaluate seven forbs (Bellis perennis L., Lotus corniculatus L., Prunella vulgaris L., Trifolium fragiferum L. ‘Fresa’, Trifolium repens L. ‘Durana’ and ‘Resolute’, Trifolium subterraneum L.) for persistence and ability to produce floral resources for pollinating insects in a low maintenance bermudagrass lawn. Plugs of each species were incorporated into ‘Riviera’ bermudagrass in Apr. 2016. Vegetative cover, flower production, flowering period and pollinator foraging were assessed. Prunella vulgaris bloomed July through August and achieved 100% cover (0% bermudagrass) by 2017. Trifolium repens achieved a more balanced competitive density with the bermudagrass and produced flowers from June through August in both years. Trifolium fragiferum persisted over two growing seasons but only bloomed in 2017. Bellis perennis, Lotus corniculatus and Trifolium subterraneum did not persist. Pollinators were observed foraging on all persistent, flowering forbs, including Trifolium repens, Prunella vulgaris, and Trifolium fragiferum. Trifolium repens and Prunella vulgaris produced the most flowers and attracted the most pollinators.

Optimising solar park design and management to boost pollinator abundance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hollie Blaydes ◽  
Alona Armstrong ◽  
Duncan Whyatt ◽  
Simon Potts ◽  
Emma Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Pollinator Abundance ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Park Design ◽  
The Uk

&lt;p&gt;Solar photovoltaics (PV) is projected to become the dominant renewable, with much capacity being installed as ground-mounted solar parks. Land use change for solar can affect ecosystems across various spatial scales and solar parks offer a unique opportunity for ecological enhancement. One compelling potential benefit put in practice by the solar industry is management for insect pollinators. Specifically, solar parks can provide refuge for pollinators through the provision of suitable habitat, potentially contributing to halting and reversing widespread declines recorded in a number of pollinator groups. There is scope to both manage and design solar parks for pollinators, but understanding is limited. Using a combination of GIS and a process-based pollinator model, we explore how solar park size, shape and management could affect ground-nesting bumblebee abundance inside solar parks and surrounding landscapes in the UK. We show that within solar parks, the floral resources provided by different management practices is a key factor affecting bumblebee abundance, but the impacts are dependent on landscape context. In comparison, solar park size and shape have a lesser impact. Moreover, the effects of both solar park management and design extend into the surrounding landscape, affecting bumblebee abundance up to 1 km away from the solar park. If designed and managed optimally, solar parks therefore have the potential to boost local pollinator abundance and pollination services to surrounding land. Our results demonstrate how incorporating biodiversity into solar park design and management decisions could benefit groups such as pollinators and contribute to the wider environmental sustainability of solar parks.&lt;/p&gt;

Evidence for clonality, breeding system, genetic diversity and genetic structure in large and small populations of Melaleuca deanei (Myrtaceae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Hewitt ◽  
Paul Rymer ◽  
Paul Holford ◽  
E. Charles Morris ◽  
Adrian Renshaw
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Breeding System ◽  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Conservation Management ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Molecular Evidence ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Root Suckering ◽  
Multiple Stems

Melaleuca deanei F.Muell. is a rare, serotinous shrub with a naturally restricted distribution centred over the sandstone ridges around Sydney. Sexual reproduction and seedling recruitment occur rarely, and plants appear to spread and persist largely by clonal root suckering. A potentially outcrossing breeding system, combined with extensive clonality, place M. deanei at a high risk of reproductive failure. Knowledge of the extent of its clonality and breeding system, and an understanding of the distribution and abundance of genetic diversity within and among its populations, will assist conservation management. The present study reports on the extent of clonality, breeding system, levels of genetic diversity, and population differentiation within small, medium and large populations of M. deanei from the northern and southern distribution regions. Multiple stems were found to comprise single genets up to ~10 m diameter on the ground and molecular evidence points to an outcrossing breeding system. Genetic diversity was positively correlated with population size and significant genetic differentiation was shown between northern and southern regions using clustering analyses. Recommendations for in situ and ex situ conservation management based on these results are provided.

Causes of infertility in the endangered Australian endemic plant Borya mirabilis (Boryaceae)

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noushka H. Reiter ◽  
Neville G. Walsh ◽  
Ann C. Lawrie
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Pollen Tube ◽  
National Park ◽  
Diploid Number ◽  
Tube Formation ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Endangered Plants ◽  
Endemic Plant ◽  
Cross Pollination ◽  
Herbaceous Perennial

Borya mirabilis Churchill (Boryaceae, Asparagales) is a herbaceous perennial and one of Australia’s most endangered plants. Only one population of four colonies remains, on a rock ledge in the Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park in Victoria, Australia. The reasons why B. mirabilis flowers freely but does not set seed were investigated. Borya mirabilis had a greater proportion of floral abnormalities than other, fertile Borya species. The pollen was often mis-shapen, with ≤ 1% pollen tube formation, but the ovules showed no structural dissimilarity from other, fertile Borya species. The flowers offered a nectar reward and many insects visited the pollen-bearing flowers in the field. Artificial cross-pollination resulted in the first recorded seed for this species. Borya mirabilis has ~66 chromosomes, relative to the diploid number of ~26 in Borya constricta Churchill, strongly suggesting that B. mirabilis is polyploid. Only 4–7% genetic diversity was found within the remaining B. mirabilis field population using 25/60 RAPD primers that showed heterogeneity. An ex-situ nursery collection was found not to contain all genotypes. Recommendations for the conservation of B. mirabilis include capturing all the known genetic diversity in cloned plants in preference over further attempts to produce seed.

scholarly journals Drilling down hotspots of intraspecific diversity to bring them into on-ground conservation of threatened species

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Zampiglia ◽  
Roberta Bisconti ◽  
Luigi Maiorano ◽  
Gaetano Aloise ◽  
Antonino Siclari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Threatened Species ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
In Situ Conservation ◽  
Intraspecific Diversity ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Global Changes

AbstractUnprecedented rates of biodiversity loss rise the urgency for preserving species ability to cope with ongoing global changes. An approach in this direction is to target intra-specific hotspots of genetic diversity as conservation priorities. However, these hotspots are often identified by sampling at a spatial resolution too coarse to be useful in practical management of threatened species, hindering the long-appealed dialog between conservation stakeholders and conservation genetic researchers. Here, we investigated the spatial and temporal variation in species presence, genetic diversity, as well as potential risk factors, within a previously identified hotspot of genetic diversity for the endangered Apennine yellow bellied toad Bombina pachypus. Our results show that this hotspot is neither a geographically homogeneous nor a temporally stable unit. Over a time-window spanning 10-40 years since previous assessments, B. pachypus populations declined in large portions of its hotspot, and their genetic diversity levels decreased. Considering the demographic trend, genetic and epidemiological data, and models of current and future climatic suitability, populations at the extreme south of the hotspot area still qualify for urgent in-situ conservation actions, whereas northern populations would be better managed through a mix of in-situ and ex-situ actions. Our results emphasize that identifying hotspot of genetic diversity, albeit essential step, does not suffice to warrant on-ground conservation of threatened species. Hotspots should be analysed at finer geographic and temporal scales, to provide conservation stakeholders with key knowledge to best define conservation priorities, and to optimize resource allocation to alternative management practices.

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