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Frugivory and seed predation of fishtail palm (Caryota mitis Lour.) on the remote oceanic island of Narcondam, India

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2024

Abhishek Gopal*
Affiliation:
Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysuru, Karnataka, India Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India
Sartaj Ghuman
Affiliation:
Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysuru, Karnataka, India 2, Circular Road, Radha Krishan Colony, Batala, Gurdaspur, Punjab, India
Vivek Ramachandran
Affiliation:
National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Navendu Page
Affiliation:
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
Rohit Naniwadekar
Affiliation:
Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysuru, Karnataka, India
*
Corresponding author: Abhishek Gopal; Email: abhishekgopal1993@gmail.com

Abstract

Oceanic islands, due to their evolutionary history and isolation, play a dual role of having high endemicity and being vulnerable to extinctions, with most known extinctions occurring on islands. Plant–animal interactions are particularly important on islands, as island systems generally have low redundancy and are more vulnerable to disruption either via extinction or by invasive species. Here, we examined the fruit removal and seed predation of a keystone palm, Caryota mitis, on Narcondam, a remote oceanic island. The island endemic Narcondam Hornbill (Rhyticeros narcondami) was the sole seed disperser of the palm (90 hours; N = 15 trees), with mean (± SE) visitation rate being 0.23 (± 0.06) individuals per hour and fruit removal rates of 3.5 (± 1.5; range: 0–16) fruits per visit, indicating a lack of redundancy in seed dispersal of the palm on this island. Whereas the invasive rodent, Rattus cf. tiomanicus, was the sole predator of palm seeds (N = 15 individual fruiting palms, 416 trap nights). Overall, 17.1% of the seeds placed (N = 375 seeds) were removed. Seeds placed under and away from the canopy, and at different densities (2 plots with 10 seeds each; 1 plot with 5 seeds, respectively), showed similar removal rates. This indicates density-independent seed predation and the lack of safe regeneration sites for Caryota mitis, with potential deleterious effects on subsequent stages of the ‘seed dispersal cycle’. Here, from a data-deficient site, we provide baseline information on the plant–frugivore interaction of a keystone palm and the potential impacts of an invasive rodent.

Type
Short Communication
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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