scholarly journals Pollination implications of the diverse diet of tropical nectar-feeding bats roosting in an urban cave

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Voon-Ching Lim ◽  
Rosli Ramli ◽  
Subha Bhassu ◽  
John James Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Plant Material ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
The Body ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Nectar Feeding

Background. Intense landscaping often alters the plant composition in urban areas. Knowing which plant species that pollinators are visiting in urban areas is necessary for understanding how landscaping impacts biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. The cave nectar bat, Eonycteris spelaea, is an important pollinator for many plants and is often recorded in human-dominated habitats. Previous studies of the diet of E. spelaea relied on morphological identification of pollen grains found in faeces and on the body of bats and by necessity disregarded other forms of digested plant material present in the faeces (i.e., plant juice and remnants). The main objective of this study was to examine the diet of the nectarivorous bat, E. spelaea, roosting in an urban cave at Batu Caves, Peninsular Malaysia by identifying the plant material present in the faeces of bats using DNA metabarcoding. Methods. Faeces were collected under the roost of E. spelaea once a week from December 2015 to March 2016. Plant DNA was extracted from the faeces, PCR amplified at ITS2 and rbcL regions and mass sequenced. The resultant plant OTU were searched against NCBI GenBank for identification. Results. A total of 55 species of plants were detected from faeces of E. spelaea including Artocarpus heterophyllus, Duabanga grandiflora and Musa spp. which are likely to be important food resources for the cave nectar bat. Discussion. Many native plant species that had not been reported in previous dietary studies of E. spelaea were detected in this study including Bauhinia strychnoidea and Urophyllum leucophlaeum, suggesting that E. spelaea remains a crucial pollinator for these plants even in highly disturbed habitats. The detection of many introduced plant species in the bat faeces indicates that E. spelaea are exploiting them, particularly Xanthostemon chrysanthus, as food resources in urban area. Commercial food crops were detected from all of the faecal samples, suggesting that E. spelaea feed predominantly on the crops particularly jackfruit and banana and play a significant role in pollination of economically important plants. Ferns and figs were also detected in the faeces of E. spelaea suggesting future research avenues to determine whether the “specialised nectarivorous” E. spelaea feed opportunistically on other parts of plants.

scholarly journals Pollination implications of the diverse diet of tropical nectar-feeding bats roosting in an urban cave

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Voon-Ching Lim ◽  
Rosli Ramli ◽  
Subha Bhassu ◽  
John-James Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Plant Material ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
The Body ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Nectar Feeding

Background Intense landscaping often alters the plant composition in urban areas. Knowing which plant species that pollinators are visiting in urban areas is necessary for understanding how landscaping impacts biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. The cave nectar bat, Eonycteris spelaea, is an important pollinator for many plants and is often recorded in human-dominated habitats. Previous studies of the diet of E. spelaea relied on morphological identification of pollen grains found in faeces and on the body of bats and by necessity disregarded other forms of digested plant material present in the faeces (i.e., plant juice and remnants). The main objective of this study was to examine the diet of the nectarivorous bat, E. spelaea, roosting in an urban cave at Batu Caves, Peninsular Malaysia by identifying the plant material present in the faeces of bats using DNA metabarcoding. Methods Faeces were collected under the roost of E. spelaea once a week from December 2015 to March 2016. Plant DNA was extracted from the faeces, Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified at ITS2 and rbcL regions and mass sequenced. The resultant plant operational taxonomic units were searched against NCBI GenBank for identification. Results A total of 55 species of plants were detected from faeces of E. spelaea including Artocarpus heterophyllus, Duabanga grandiflora and Musa spp. which are likely to be important food resources for the cave nectar bat. Discussion Many native plant species that had not been reported in previous dietary studies of E. spelaea were detected in this study including Bauhinia strychnoidea and Urophyllum leucophlaeum, suggesting that E. spelaea remains a crucial pollinator for these plants even in highly disturbed habitats. The detection of many introduced plant species in the bat faeces indicates that E. spelaea are exploiting them, particularly Xanthostemon chrysanthus, as food resources in urban area. Commercial food crops were detected from all of the faecal samples, suggesting that E. spelaea feed predominantly on the crops particularly jackfruit and banana and play a significant role in pollination of economically important plants. Ferns and figs were also detected in the faeces of E. spelaea suggesting future research avenues to determine whether the ‘specialised nectarivorous’ E. spelaea feed opportunistically on other parts of plants.

scholarly journals Pollination implications of the diverse diet of tropical nectar-feeding bats roosting in an urban cave

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Voon-Ching Lim ◽  
Rosli Ramli ◽  
Subha Bhassu ◽  
John James Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Plant Material ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
The Body ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Nectar Feeding

Background. Intense landscaping often alters the plant composition in urban areas. Knowing which plant species that pollinators are visiting in urban areas is necessary for understanding how landscaping impacts biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. The cave nectar bat, Eonycteris spelaea, is an important pollinator for many plants and is often recorded in human-dominated habitats. Previous studies of the diet of E. spelaea relied on morphological identification of pollen grains found in faeces and on the body of bats and by necessity disregarded other forms of digested plant material present in the faeces (i.e., plant juice and remnants). The main objective of this study was to examine the diet of the nectarivorous bat, E. spelaea, roosting in an urban cave at Batu Caves, Peninsular Malaysia by identifying the plant material present in the faeces of bats using DNA metabarcoding. Methods. Faeces were collected under the roost of E. spelaea once a week from December 2015 to March 2016. Plant DNA was extracted from the faeces, PCR amplified at ITS2 and rbcL regions and mass sequenced. The resultant plant OTU were searched against NCBI GenBank for identification. Results. A total of 55 species of plants were detected from faeces of E. spelaea including Artocarpus heterophyllus, Duabanga grandiflora and Musa spp. which are likely to be important food resources for the cave nectar bat. Discussion. Many native plant species that had not been reported in previous dietary studies of E. spelaea were detected in this study including Bauhinia strychnoidea and Urophyllum leucophlaeum, suggesting that E. spelaea remains a crucial pollinator for these plants even in highly disturbed habitats. The detection of many introduced plant species in the bat faeces indicates that E. spelaea are exploiting them, particularly Xanthostemon chrysanthus, as food resources in urban area. Commercial food crops were detected from all of the faecal samples, suggesting that E. spelaea feed predominantly on the crops particularly jackfruit and banana and play a significant role in pollination of economically important plants. Ferns and figs were also detected in the faeces of E. spelaea suggesting future research avenues to determine whether the “specialised nectarivorous” E. spelaea feed opportunistically on other parts of plants.

scholarly journals Analysis of the feeding habits of the swallow-tailed hummingbird, Eupetomena macroura (Gmelin, 1788), in an urban park in southeastern Brazil

2008 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
MCB. Toledo ◽  
DM. Moreira
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Mangifera Indica ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Plant Part ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Urban Park ◽  
Territorial Defense ◽  
The City

The aim of this work was to observe and describe the feeding habits and available food resources of the swallow-tailed hummingbird, Eupetomena macroura. The study was carried out in a municipal park located in the city of Taubaté, in the state of São Paulo. The observations took place between December 2003 and October 2004, recording the following variables: 1) the plant species visited for feeding and territorial defense; 2) the kinds of food resources; and 3) the kinds of flight to procure and obtain food. E. macroura visited 12 plant species. For territorial defense, Mangifera indica was the most visited, whereas Malvaviscus arboreus was most visited for feeding. The foliage was the plant part that received the most frequent visits. In order to obtain nectar, the only species visited was M. arboreus; to obtain arthropods, the species most visited were Mangifera indica and Hymenaea stilbocarpa. In the dry season, the hummingbirds visited flowers, whereas in the rainy season they visited leaves to acquire food. The arthropod groups most frequently found on leafy branches were Homoptera and Psocoptera. Finally, the results of the type of flight analysis showed that flight used to capture food was more often observed than were flights to search for food. In conclusion, these observations suggest that E. macroura shows plasticity in feeding behavior, which can help it to persist in urban areas.

Savanna woody plants and their provision of food resources to bees in southern Burkina Faso, West Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Coulibaly Drissa ◽  
Yalamoussa Tuo ◽  
Mouhamadou Koné ◽  
Larba Hubert Balima ◽  
Souleymane Konaté ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Woody Plant ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Woody Plant Species ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Pollen Species

West African savanna ecosystems and biodiversity are severely threatened by intensified land use and increasing degradation of natural habitats. Despite the importance of bees for pollinating crops and native plant species little information is available regarding the importance of savanna woody plant species to provide bees with food resources. Flora inventories were carried out on 48 subplots laid out across three land use types. The number of bee morphospecies and their abundance as flower visitors were recorded from inflorescences of plants during the different flowering periods. Out of a total diversity of 82 woody plant species, 53 species (64.63%) from 38 genera and 21 families were melliferous. These plants were visited by bees for foraging nectar and/or pollen. Species of the Combretaceae family were the most visited by bees in terms of individuals (53.85%). Combretum glutinosum alone accounted for 36% of visits. More than half of the melliferous plants (50.94%) were visited for both nectar and pollen. About 32.08% of plants were visited for nectar only (32.08%), while 16.98% were visited for pollen only (16.98%). The majority of savanna plants are flowering in the dry season, but few flowering species can be found throughout the whole year. Savanna woody plant species constitute important food resources for bees, therefore providing a wide range of applications for the development of beekeeping activities in the Sudanian region of West Africa.

scholarly journals Plant food resources exploited by Blue-and-Yellow Macaws (Ara ararauna, Linnaeus 1758) at an urban area in Central Brazil

2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 429-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
AA. Santos ◽  
J. Ragusa-Netto
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Food Resources ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Plant Food ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Feeding Niche

In this study, we described the food plants available to Blue-and-Yellow Macaws (Ara ararauna), its feeding habits and the relationship between these parameters with feeding niche breadth. We established four transects, each one 12 km long, to sample fruiting plants and the feeding habits of this macaw (monthly 40 h, of observations), at the urban areas of Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil). During all studied months, macaws foraged for palm fruits, mainly Syagrus oleracea and Acrocomia aculeata fruit pulp, both available all year, as well as Caryocar brasiliense and Anacardium occidentale seeds, in the wet season. The year-round feeding activity of macaws suggests Três Lagoas city as an adequate feeding area. The permanent availability of plant food resources, potentially, resulted from the diverse fruiting patterns of exotic and, mainly, native plant species, which provided a variety of suitable fruit patches.

How dependent are bell miners (Manorina melanophrys) on lantana (Lantana camara) as part of their habitat?

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 613
Author(s):  
Kathryn T. A. Lambert ◽  
Paul G. McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Lantana Camara ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Nesting Habitat ◽  
Understorey Vegetation ◽  
Nest Height ◽  
Broad Scale

Context The bell miner (Manorina melanophrys) is thought to prefer the dense vegetation of Lantana camara, a dominating noxious weed, to nest in compared with native plant communities in northern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland. As miner numbers seemed to have increased with increased availability of nesting habitat, larger numbers of despotic bell miners territorially reduce native avian diversity. The resultant high insect numbers in the canopy lead to dieback. It is unknown to what extent the native bell miner relies on lantana for nesting sites and if restoration through removal of lantana, resulting in an influx of native species, changes food availability and thus foraging behaviours. Aims The objective of our study was to understand the relationship between the presence of lantana and bell miners by determining: (1) bell miner behaviours in response to different understorey types; (2) bell miner nesting choices on a broad scale; (3) nesting preference for each site on a broad scale; and (4) whether nest height is related to fledging success. Methods Fifty individual bell miners were observed within five colonies (four containing comparison quadrats of treated and intact lantana as part of a restoration study and one containing water vine for comparison as a pristine site; n=10 per treatment) during four seasons. Five bouts of gleaning, probing or sallying were observed, noting height and plant species. Nest sites were examined over a large area, noting plant species present, nest height and plant height. Key results Bell miners used gleaning as the primary foraging tactic primarily in eucalypts (93%; n=600, mean=13.6m±0.29, s.e.). Bell miners generally nested in understorey vegetation (83.5% of nests observed) at a mean height of 2.7m in 37 different plant species, native and exotic. Nest height did not influence the probability of broods fledging. Conclusions Bell miners exhibit considerable nest plasticity, and the removal of lantana as an oft-used nesting habitat is unlikely to lead to relocation by this species. Implications Instead, future research needs to focus on canopy insect assemblages in bell miner colonies, a potentially more important determinant of bell miner distribution.

scholarly journals Plant Diversity Along the Urban–Rural Gradient and Its Relationship with Urbanization Degree in Shanghai, China

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Wang ◽  
Junxiang Li ◽  
Shengjian Kuang ◽  
Yujuan He ◽  
Guojian Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
The Relationship

Urbanization is one of the major causes for plant diversity loss at the local and regional scale. However, how plant species distribute along the urban–rural gradient and what the relationship between urbanization degree and plant diversity is, is not very clear. In this paper, 134 sample sites along two 18 km width transects that run across the urban center of Shanghai were investigated. We quantified the spatial patterns of plant diversity along the urban–rural gradient and measured the relationship between plant diversity and urbanization degree, which was calculated using a land use land cover map derived from high spatial resolution aerial photos. We recorded 526 vascular plant species in 134 plots, 57.8% of which are exotic plant species. Six spatial distribution patterns of species richness were identified for different plant taxa along the rural to urban gradient. The native plant species richness showed no significant relationship to urbanization degree. The richness of the all plants, woody plants and perennial herbs presented significant positive relationship with urbanization degree, while the richness of annual herbs, Shannon-Wiener diversity and Heip evenness all exhibited a negative relationship to urbanization degree. Urbanization could significantly influence plant diversity in Shanghai. Our findings can provide insights to understand the mechanism of urbanization effects on plant diversity, as well as plant diversity conservation in urban areas.

scholarly journals Pollination efficiency of Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 (Hymenoptera, Apidae) on the monoecious plants Jatropha mollissima (Pohl) Baill. and Jatropha mutabilis (Pohl) Baill. (Euphorbiaceae) in a semi-arid Caatinga area, northeastern Brazil

2011 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
EL. Neves ◽  
BF. Viana
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
The Body ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Pollination Efficiency ◽  
Flower Visitation ◽  
Low Efficiency

Previous studies have shown the superior competitive ability of honeybees compared with native bees in the exploitation of floral resources and nesting sites besides their low efficiency in pollinating native plant species. However, there is little evidence of the effect of this invading species on autochthonous plant populations in natural environments. Thus experiments were performed to test the pollination efficiency of honeybees in two species of Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae), J. mollissima (Pohl) Baill. and J. mutabilis (Pohl) Baill., after a single flower visitation. Samplings were carried out between March and April 2006 in a hyperxerophilous shrub-arboreal Caatinga at Estação Biológica de Canudos, Bahia (9º 56´ 34" S, 38º 59´ 17" W), the property of Fundação Biodiversitas. Apis mellifera was efficient at pollinating J. mollissima (100%) and J. mutabilis (85%). This high efficiency may be explained by 1) the simple floral characteristics of both plant species, which facilitate access to the sexual organs of the plant; and 2) the body size of A. mellifera that fits the flower's dimensions.

scholarly journals An Empirical Study of Managers’ Intention to Hire Older Workers

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-184
Author(s):  
Claudia Laua ◽  
Choong Chee Keongb ◽  
Wong Kee Luenc
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Past Experience ◽  
The Body ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Western Coast ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Government

The study tested a modified Theory of Planned Behaviour model with an added variable of past experience to predict managers’ intention to hire older workers. Surveyed locations were the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. A cross-sectional data was collected via personal administered questionnaires surveys (n=468). A response rate of 78% (M=59.6%; F=40.4%) was recorded. Models and hypotheses testing were performed using SEM-PLS. Values from internal consistency reliability tests indicated all values were accepted and demonstrated a high level of reliability. Convergent and discriminant validities were well established. Both tolerance and VIF values suggested no potential collinearity problem. The modified model accounted R2=0.377. The findings suggested that the antecedents and intention were related and that the 3 hypotheses (H1, H2, and H3) were supported. The empirical result derived is expected to bring awareness to business organizations on the benefits of a diversified workforce, a better understanding on the effects of attitudes, subjective norms and past experience on managers’ intention when hiring older workers. Relevant public policy makers are able to, from the outcome of the study, formulate and implement workplace good practices to help prolong older workers work life, which in turn would greatly relief the Government from financial burden due to unemployed older workers. In addition, the result further encourages more future research to enrich the body of knowledge of Malaysian research literature on ageing workforce.  

Native plant species field evaluation in salt desert: good materials, bad situation

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Grant-Hoffman ◽  
S. Parr ◽  
T. Blanke
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Field Evaluation ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Salt Desert
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