scholarly journals Effect of mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) population growth to their key food plant biomass in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J.P. Samedi ◽  
W Eckardt ◽  
M Derhé ◽  
M Miller ◽  
C.C. Grueter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Food Plant ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Mountain Gorilla ◽  
Large Herbivores ◽  
Feeding Sites ◽  
Virunga Massif ◽  
The Relationship

High densities of large herbivores can have detrimental effects on plant biomass. Understanding the relationship between animal densities and plant distribution and abundance is essential for the conservation of endangered species and ecosystems. Mountain gorilla censuses conducted for different periods in the last three decades have revealed a steady increase of gorilla population in Virunga Massif whereby the recent number of gorillas has doubled compared to their number in the 1980s. It is unclear whether the continuous population growth of the herbivorous Virunga gorilla within an isolated forest ‘island’ has been affecting gorilla food plant biomass. This study investigated the effect of varying mountain gorilla densities on the biomass of the five key food plant species (Galium spp., Carduus nyassanus, Peucedanum linderi, Rubus spp., Laportea alatipes) that make up >70% of the mountain gorilla diet. We used plant biomass data collected in a central part of the Virunga massif, commonly known as Karisoke sector from 2009 to 2011, and GPS records of gorilla groups ranging in the same area nine months prior biomass assessment. Gorilla densities were estimated using the Kernel Utilization Distribution (KDE) analysis (functions: ‘kernelUD’ and ‘getvolumeUD’) from the Adehabitat package in R software, which provides the probability density of gorilla occurrence at each coordinate (x, y) of the study area. Analyses using GLMs suggest that gorilla densities (a proxy of previous gorilla utilization intensity) did neither affect the total biomass of key food plant species nor the biomass of each key food plant species (p>0.05). These results may indicate that current revisit rates of feeding sites by gorillas allow for complete plant regeneration, and no signs of overharvesting. Alternatively, feeding sites characterized by very high biomass may be preferred by gorillas and remain sites with the highest biomass even after being frequently used by gorillas. Findings also suggest that carrying capacity of the gorilla population in the study areas may not yet be reached if food is the driving constraint. However, monitoring of the relationship between gorilla densities and food plant biomass must continue while the Virunga population continues growing. Future studies also need to incorporate other sympatric large herbivores in the Virungas who share food plants with mountain gorillas.Keywords: habitat use, gorilla density, plants biomass

scholarly journals Relationships between resource availability and elevation vary between metrics creating gradients of nutritional complexity

Oecologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 195 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-223
Author(s):  
Mark A. Lee ◽  
Grace Burger ◽  
Emma R. Green ◽  
Pepijn W. Kooij
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Mineral Contents ◽  
Nutritive Values ◽  
Animal Community ◽  
Nutritional Chemistry ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractPlant and animal community composition changes at higher elevations on mountains. Plant and animal species richness generally declines with elevation, but the shape of the relationship differs between taxa. There are several proposed mechanisms, including the productivity hypotheses; that declines in available plant biomass confers fewer resources to consumers, thus supporting fewer species. We investigated resource availability as we ascended three aspects of Helvellyn mountain, UK, measuring several plant nutritive metrics, plant species richness and biomass. We observed a linear decline in plant species richness as we ascended the mountain but there was a unimodal relationship between plant biomass and elevation. Generally, the highest biomass values at mid-elevations were associated with the lowest nutritive values, except mineral contents which declined with elevation. Intra-specific and inter-specific increases in nutritive values nearer the top and bottom of the mountain indicated that physiological, phenological and compositional mechanisms may have played a role. The shape of the relationship between resource availability and elevation was different depending on the metric. Many consumers actively select or avoid plants based on their nutritive values and the abundances of consumer taxa vary in their relationships with elevation. Consideration of multiple nutritive metrics and of the nutritional requirements of the consumer may provide a greater understanding of changes to plant and animal communities at higher elevations. We propose a novel hypothesis for explaining elevational diversity gradients, which warrants further study; the ‘nutritional complexity hypothesis’, where consumer species coexist due to greater variation in the nutritional chemistry of plants.

scholarly journals Nutrtional profile of some selected food plants of Otwal and Ngai sub counties Oyam district, northern Uganda

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (57) ◽  
pp. 7428-7451
Author(s):  
A Acipa ◽  
◽  
M Kamatenesi-Mugisha ◽  
H Oryem-Origa
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Food Plant ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Mineral Nutrient ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Nutrient Deficiencies ◽  
Indigenous Plants ◽  
General Decline

Wild food plants play an important role in the diet of inhabitants of Oyam District. Some of these plants are drought -resistant and gathered throughout the year . These wild foods are an important source of nutrients. However, there is a lack of comprehensive data re garding the nutrient content s of these indigenous plants. The purpose of this study was to document and assess the nutrient and mineral content s of the selected food plants. Ethnobotanical surveys were used to collect data through formal and informal inter views and focused group discussions. Voucher specimens were collected during field excursions and taken to Makerere Herbarium for proper identification . Nutrients and mineral analyses of wild and cultivated fruits, seeds, underground organs and vegetables from Ngai and Otwal sub counties were carried out using known procedures. They were analysed for mineral nutrients such as calcium, iron, potassium, and phosphorus concentrations. Additionally nutrients such proteins, beta carotene, vitamin C and dietary fibre were determined . On average, vegetables were found to be richer in organic nutrients and minerals followed by fruits and seeds in that order . Generally the wild food plant species were found to be richer sources of mineral nutrient than their cultivated relatives. F or example , the highest concentration of calcium 867.59 mg/100g was found in Acalypha bipartita leaves compared to 294.18 mg/100g in Cleome gynandra . Plant species that showed high iron contents [>30% ] were leaves of swamp hibiscus , African spider flowers , fruits of Tamarind , Black night shade and Jews mallow . It was also noted that among the food plant species analysed, fruits were low in nutrients and mineral elements. Some of these food plants were also considered to have medicinal properties by the locals such as African spider flower, Rattle pod among others. However, it should be noted that there is a general decline in the consumption of wild plants , despite the apparent high nutritional values . T he conservation of wild food plants is not taking place among the communities in the study area, thus the poor rural communities who are limited on balancing their diet could be faced with diseases associated with nutrient deficiencies .

SOME NEW NORTH AMERICAN GENERA AND SPECIES IN THE GROUP FORMERLY CALLED PLATYMETOPIUS (RHYNCHOTA, HOMOPTERA)

1931 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
pp. 216-222
Author(s):  
E. D. Ball
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
New Species ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Food Plant ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
History Information ◽  
Related Group ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Working Out

The writer has been working on the food plants of the leaf-hoppers for many years and has found in the main the different species of the genus Platymetopius, as commonly recognized, are very closely confined to a single species of plant or to a closely related group. Before it was possible to prepare a list of the food plants in the group it was found necessary to describe a number of new species of which food plant and life history information was available. In working out the relationship of these species, two startling discoveries were made.

BIOLOGY AND REARING OF PARAPHLEPSIUS IRRORATUS (HOMOPTERA: CICADELLIDAE), A VECTOR OF PEACH X-DISEASE

1985 ◽  
Vol 117 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.N. Chiykowski
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Food Plant ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Leguminous Plant ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Similar Survival ◽  
Survival Level ◽  
Gramineous Species

AbstractA method of rearing Paraphlepsius irroratus (Say) under artificial conditions was developed by using a leguminous plant species as the oviposition host and a gramineous species as the food plant for nymphs. Nymphs completed their development on all 10 gramineous species tested. Total time for completion of the 5 nymphal instars ranged from 31.8 to 59.2 days, depending on the plant species used. With the exception of Alopecurus pratensis, all monocotyledonous species tested were found to be suitable food plants for nymphs, allowing 50% or more of the insects to survive for 3 weeks or more. Only 5 dicotyledonous species supported a similar survival level of nymphs. Adult survival remained above the 50% level on Apium graveolans var. dulce, 6 members of the Leguminosae, and all members of Composite with the exception of Callistephus chinensis. Survival of adult leafhoppers on monocotyledons was relatively high after 1 week but considerable mortality followed longer confinement. Although nymphs emerged from eggs laid on a wide range of plant species, the numbers recorded on monocotyledons suggest that monocots are important as oviposition hosts for P. irroratus in nature.

scholarly journals Large variation in availability of Maya food plant sources during ancient droughts

2021 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. e2115657118
Author(s):  
Scott L. Fedick ◽  
Louis S. Santiago
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Food Plant ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Complete Analysis ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
Moderate Drought ◽  
Terminal Classic Period

Paleoclimatic evidence indicating a series of droughts in the Yucatan Peninsula during the Terminal Classic period suggests that climate change may have contributed to the disruption or collapse of Classic Maya polities. Although climate change cannot fully account for the multifaceted, political turmoil of the period, it is clear that droughts of strong magnitude could have limited food availability, potentially causing famine, migration, and societal decline. Maize was undoubtedly an important staple food of the ancient Maya, but a complete analysis of other food resources that would have been available during drought remains unresolved. Here, we assess drought resistance of all 497 indigenous food plant species documented in ethnographic, ethnobotanical, and botanical studies as having been used by the lowland Maya and classify the availability of these plant species and their edible components under various drought scenarios. Our analysis indicates availability of 83% of food plant species in short-term drought, but this percentage drops to 22% of food plant species available in moderate drought up to 1 y. During extreme drought, lasting several years, our analysis indicates availability of 11% of food plant species. Our results demonstrate a greater diversity of food sources beyond maize that would have been available to the Maya during climate disruption of the Terminal Classic period than has been previously acknowledged. While drought would have necessitated shifts in dietary patterns, the range of physiological drought responses for the available food plants would have allowed a continuing food supply under all but the most dire conditions.

Feeding Behavior of Phayre’s Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus phayrei) and Capped Langur (Trachypithecus pileatus) in Dampa Tiger Reserve, Mizoram

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-38
Author(s):  
Ht Decemson ◽  
Abinash Parida ◽  
G.S. Solanki
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behavior ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Food Plant ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Feeding Time ◽  
Leaf Monkey ◽  
Tiger Reserve ◽  
Capped Langur ◽  
Selection Of

A study on feeding behavior of two primate species viz; Phayre’s leaf monkey (Trachypithecus phayrei, Blyth, 1847) and capped langur (Trachypithecus pileatus Blyth, 1843) was conducted during summer season (March–May, 2014) in Dampa Tiger Reserve (DTR), Mizoram, India. Study was carried out in the Terei range of forest reserve. A total of 87 plant species including bamboo were recorded in the area. Both species of primates (T. phayrei and T. pileatus) were studied for their food plant selection, diet composition, time budget for activities during day. Selection of trees to sleep at night was also observed. Capped langur selected 7 food plant species whereas Phayre’s leaf monkey selected 8 food plants. 40% of the plant species were common to both the primate species; however they showed a distinct variation in food plant preference. Phayre’s leaf monkey spent S 90% of feeding time on Musa ornata, Melacana baccifera and Dendrocalamus longispathus and S 80% Musa balbisiana, Gmelina arborea and Buetneria pilosa; an indication of preference for bamboo species and climbers. Capped langur spent feeding time S 90% on Ficus maclellendi and Ficus semicordata while other species were given comparatively less time. Both the species had consumed young leaves, flowers and fruits in their diet that constitute nearly 80% of the diet. Food items were drawn from different plants. The Phayre’s preferred Dendrocalamus longispathus, (98%) as sleeping site while the Capped langur selected Ficus benghalensis (90%) to sleep at night. Both the species are folivorous in nature but the selection of food plants, source of diet components and plants used to sleep at night were different that indicates that both species has distinct niche within the same habitat type; a very strong survival strategy.

Food plant selection by stick insects (Phasmida) in a Bornean rain forest

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nico Blüthgen ◽  
Anika Metzner ◽  
Daniel Ruf
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Food Plant ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Lowland Rain Forest ◽  
Feeding Experiments ◽  
Stick Insects ◽  
Plant Families ◽  
Tropical Lowland Rain Forest

Stick insects (Phasmida) are important herbivores in tropical ecosystems, but have been poorly investigated in their natural environment. We studied phasmids and their food plants in a tropical lowland rain forest in Borneo (Danum Valley, Sabah, Malaysia). Thirty species of phasmid were collected from 49 plant species during nocturnal surveys in the forest understorey. In most cases (35 plant species), experiments confirmed that these phasmids fed on those plant species from which they were collected. Partitioning of phasmid species among food plant species was highly significant. Two common species had a largely restricted diet: Asceles margaritatus occurred mainly on Mallotus spp. (Euphorbiaceae) and Dinophasma ruficornis on Leea indica (Leeaceae). Other phasmids fed on a broad spectrum of plant families and can be considered polyphagous (e.g. Haaniella echinata, Lonchodes hosei herberti). Feeding experiments were performed on captive phasmids using leaves from eight plant species. Asceles margaritatus showed a significantly higher consumption rate for Mallotus miquelianus leaves than for other plants, while H. echinata showed the opposite trend and the lowest consumption for M. miquelianus. However, A. margaritatus readily accepted foliage from several plant families, particularly when Mallotus was not offered at the same time. Therefore, studies on host specialisation by herbivores need to include their distribution in the natural vegetation.

scholarly journals Food Habit and Feeding Patterns of Great Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, Assam, India

ISRN Zoology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. C. Hazarika ◽  
P. K. Saikia
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Aquatic Plants ◽  
National Park ◽  
Food Plant ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Feeding Patterns ◽  
Relative Dominance ◽  
Rhinoceros Unicornis ◽  
Hemarthria Compressa

Food and feeding patterns of great Indian one-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) has been studied in Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park. Altogether 75 species of grasses, 27 species of herbs-shrubs, 27 species of trees, and 9 species of aquatic plants species were identified as a food-plant species of Indian Rhino in the study area. Of the total 75 species of grasses, 48 species had a relative dominance of <1.0. The Saccharum spontaneum was ranked as the highest relative dominance food-plant among grasses (relative dominance value, 8.45%), while the Cyperus pilosus ranked the lowest (relative dominance value, 0.08%). Among 27 herbs-shrubs species, three had a relative dominance of <1.0. The Diplazium esculentum was ranked the highest relative dominance food plants among herbs-shrubs food plants (relative dominance value, 13.83%), while the Solanum viarum was ranked the lowest (relative dominance value, 0.66%). All tree species had a relative dominance of >1.0. The Dalbergia sissoo ranked the highest among all trees (relative dominance value, 7.94%), while the Anthocephalus cadamba ranked the lowest (value, 1.19%). Grasses constituted 86.66% of the total annual diet of Rhino, while the aquatic and woodland species constituted only 13.34% of the total annual diet. Altogether 71 plants species were identified as the Rhino food plants at Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park. Of which, grasses constituted the highest (42 species), followed by woodland species (trees, herbs-shrubs), (20 species) and aquatic plants (9 species). The grass species Hemarthria compressa contributed a highest of 11.63%, while the aquatic plant Polygonum hydropiper was the least of 0.01% in total annual diet. Out of total 42 food-plant species, 20 grass species had no selectivity. The Hemarthria compressa was the top ranking grass species that has been selected as food by the Indian Rhino. Altogether, 36 food-plants (24 grasses, 9 woodland species, and 3 aquatic species) were identified as the staple food that constituted 83.64% of the total annual diet. Study showed that ten top ranking food plants constituted 56.44% and 20 top ranking food plants constituted 72.19% of the total annual diet. Thus, the grass species alone have enough to provide food for Indian Rhino in Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park. Soil licking and crop depredation by the Indian Rhino were common in the fringe villages in study area.

scholarly journals Deciphering Substrate-Specific Methane Yields of Perennial Herbaceous Wild Plant Species

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 451
Author(s):  
Moritz von Cossel ◽  
Lorena Agra Pereira ◽  
Iris Lewandowski
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Wild Plant Species ◽  
Global Demand ◽  
Bioenergy Cropping Systems

The global demand for plant biomass to provide bioenergy and heat is continuously increasing because of a growing interest among many industrialized and developing countries towards climate sound and renewable energy supply. The exacerbation of land-use conflicts proliferates social-ecological demands on future bioenergy cropping systems. Perennial herbaceous wild plant mixtures (WPMs) represent an approach to providing social-ecologically more sustainably produced biogas substrate that has gained increasing public and political interest only in recent years. The focus of this study lies on three perennial wild plant species (WPS) that usually dominate the biomass yield performance of WPM cultivation. These WPS were compared with established biogas crops in terms of their substrate-specific methane yield (SMY) and lignocellulosic composition. The plant samples were investigated in a small-scale mesophilic discontinuous biogas batch test for determining the SMY. All WPS were found to have significantly lower SMY (241.5–248.5 lN kgVS−1) than maize (337.5 lN kgVS−1). This was attributed to higher contents of lignin (9.7–12.8% of dry matter) as well as lower contents of hemicellulose (9.9–11.5% of dry matter) in the WPS. Only minor, non-significant differences to cup plant and Virginia mallow were observed. Thus, when planning WPS as a diversification measure in biogas cropping systems, their lower SMY should be considered.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document