Noma, N., Classification of bird-dispersed plants by fruiting phenology, fruit size, and growth form in a primary lucidophyllous forest: an analysis, with implications for the conservation of fruit-bird interactions.

Garcinia imberti Bourd. endemic to the southern Western Ghats is classified as endangered by the IUCN (2018). The seeds as the sole means of propagation with initial moisture content (MC) of 62.8% are sensitive to desiccation. Studies on the responses of the seed to drying require ascertaining of the critical moisture content (CMC) as a basic requisite for germplasm conservation. Responses of G. imberti seeds to fast drying with activated silica gel (25 ± 2 °C, 6 ± 1% RH) and to slow drying under laboratory conditions (28 ± 2°C, 60 ± 2% RH) were evaluated for seed and seedling vigour. When the MC was reduced to 56% by 48 hours of slow drying or 6 hours of fast drying, 75 to 90% normal seedlings were produced respectively. In the case of fast dried seed (6 hours), seed associated parameters except mean germination time showed peak values with maximum germination and enhanced root length. Below the CMCs of 16.4 and 26.3% (fast and slow drying respectively), half of the tested seeds become non viable. Thus for germplasm conservation the present study proposes 6 hour's of fast drying to retain viability and normal seedling development of G. imberti.

Garcinia imberti seeds were collected during 2015-2017 from Shangili, Cheenikkala and Bonaccord evergreen forests of Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve, the only abode of this endangered endemic species. Germinability of seeds were analysed through decoating, Gibberellic acid (GA3) and light inductive pre-treatments on fresh (62.8 % moisture content; MC) and desiccated (fast; 23.3% MC and slow; 30.5 % MC) seeds. The seed germination with impermeable coat (0.7-1.2 mm) was restricted which on decoating got enhanced. Application of GA3 along with exposure to light breaked dormancy within 4-6 days compared to non-treated seeds that took 238-254 days to germinate. Stored seeds behaviour revealed that seed moisture content and rate of germination were negatively correlated. Seed storage was found to be more efficient only up to 80 days at controlled seed banking conditions (20 ± 20C, 20 % relative humidity; RH). Both fast and slow desiccated seeds stored for 60 days in seed bank conditions exhibited 50.4 and 43.4 % of germination compared 39.4% germination of non-desiccated seeds. Hence fast desiccated and decoated G. imberti seeds pre-treated with GA3 on subsequent exposure to light alleviated dormancy. For seed banking, fast desiccated seeds with MC in between 40-20% are found to be promising.

Assessing the genetic diversity of endemic plants is of great importance in future conservation programmes. The genetic diversity in Garcinia imberti from Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve of southern Western Ghats was assessed through ISSR markers by molecular characterization with 15 primers. A total of 157 accessions from six populations were used for the study. They generated 102 amplified products, out of which 89 were polymorphic (87.25%). It produced an average of 6.8 bands per primer and 5.93% polymorphism per primer. The present study revealed that G. imberti has moderate level of genetic diversity at species level but differs at population level. The dendrogram constructed following UPGMA exhibited that all accessions were clustered together except Poonkulam population. The genetic diversity analysis of G. imberti showed that even though the populations are closely associated, every population have their own characteristic diversity and should be conserved. Among the populations, Chemunji is the largest one with more genetic diversity and may conserve as the potential source of gene pool of this species.

Background The Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot in India harbours a high percentage of endemic species due to its unique and diverse habitats. These species which cannot survive elsewhere due to their specialised habitat requirements are at high risk from climatic and anthropogenic disturbances. The butterfly fauna of the region although well documented has not been investigated intensively at local scales. In this study, we present information on species presence within 10 km × 10 km grid cells (n= 30; area=3000 km2) of 94 butterfly species in the Western Ghats region. The data on the species distribution within these grids which included three wildlife sanctuaries and four forest divisions was mapped. Indicator analysis was performed in R using multipatt function in indispecies package to determine species associated with sites/site combinations. The corrected weighted endemism indices of the study grids were estimated. Results The data collected over a 4-year period comprised of 393 records of 60 endemic species belonging to five families observed along 102 transects. Troides minos was the most widespread species occuring in 19 grids. Seventeen species indicative of sites and site combinations were obtained, of which Cirrochroa thais, Papilio paris tamilana, Papilio helenus daksha, Parthenos sylvia virens and Mycalesis patnia were significant. The highest corrected weighted endemism index was observed in grid 25 (14.44) followed by grids 24 (12.06) and 19 (11.86). Areas harbouring unique and range restricted species were Parambikulam WLS/TR: Kuthirakolpathy, Pupara, Kalyanathi, Top slip and Muthalakuzhy; Peechi-Vazhani WLS: Ayyapankadu; Thrissur FD: Chakkapara and Vellakarithadam; Nenmara FD: Karikutty, Pothumala and Nelliampathy estate; Vazhachal FD: Poringalkuthu dam, Meenchal and Vazhachal. Conclusions The study area which covers 2.14% of the Western Ghats hotspot harbours almost 63.82% of the region’s endemic butterfly species making this particular region crucial for butterfly conservation and management. Studying the phylogenetic endemism of the butterflies, identification of microrefugia and testing the mountain geobiodiversity hypothesis with respect to butterflies are the suggested approaches to be adopted for fine-tuning research and conservation of butterflies in this fragile hotspot.