Autecology of the common fishtail palm, <i>Caryota mitis</i> (Arecaceae), in Singapore

Quek, Zheng Bin Randolph; Chui, Shao Xiong; Lam, Weng Ngai; Fung, Tze Kwan; Sivasothi, N.

doi:10.1080/23818107.2020.1717612

Cited by 2 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Frugivorous bats can also potentially disperse the seeds of Caryota mitis, however, we did not observe them feeding on the palm during our night tree watches. Imperial pigeons have been reported to disperse the palm seeds elsewhere (Quek et al 2020), yet during our two-month stay on the island, we only found Imperial pigeons feeding on small-seeded plants ). Among the large-seeded plants on the island, Caryota mitis had high species strength values highlighting its importance for the hornbill and in the community (Naniwadekar et al Invasive species have caused catastrophic declines and extinctions of several native and endemic species, especially on islands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

“…Here, from a data-deficient region of the Indian Ocean, we provide baseline information on the frugivory and seed predation of a keystone palm species. In terms of frugivory, unlike the mainland sites (Quek et al 2020), in 90 hours of observations, only the point-endemic Narcondam Hornbill was seen dispersing the seeds of the Caryota mitis. In terms of seed predation, the invasive rodents removed seeds in a pattern not consistent with the expectations of the JC hypothesis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…In this study, we focus on the Caryota mitis Lour., a sympodial species of fishtail palm, to determine patterns of frugivory and seed predation on a remote oceanic island, Narcondam (area: 6.8 km 2 ; elevation range: 0-710 m ASL; 13.4456°N, 94.2633°E) in the Andaman sea in south Asia. Insights from mainland studies show that Caryota mitis is consumed by over fourteen vertebrate species, both birds and mammals (Quek et al 2020). It is widely distributed and abundant in south-east Asian tropical forests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They produce substantial infructescence in a basipetal sequence, thereby providing a continuous resource to frugivores and seed predators (Quek et al 2020). One study estimates up to 805 fruits per infructescence (Quek et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gopal

Ghuman

Page

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Oceanic islands, due to their evolutionary history and isolation, hold a disproportionately high proportion of endemic species. However, their evolutionary history also makes them 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 the remote oceanic island of Narcondam. The island endemic Narcondam hornbill (Rhyticeros narcondami), was the sole seed disperser of the Caryota mitis (90 hours; N = 15 trees), indicating a lack of redundancy in seed dispersal of the palm on this island. While the invasive rodent, Rattus cf. tiomanicus was the sole predator of the Caryota mitis seeds in the forest (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 is indicative of ambient seed predation and the lack of safe sites for the regeneration of Caryota mitis, with potential deleterious effects on the 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 by an invasive rodent.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gopal

Ghuman

Page

et al. 2023

Preprint

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show abstract

“…It is hapaxanthic, wherein, post an initial vegetative phase, all its resources are exhausted in a prolonged flowering phase (Uhl & Dransfield 1987). They produce substantial infructescence, up to 805 fruits per infructescence (Quek et al 2020), in a basipetal sequence, thereby providing a continuous resource to frugivores and seed predators (Quek et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gopal,

Ghuman,

Ramachandran

et al. 2024

J. Trop. Ecol.

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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.

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Autecology of the common fishtail palm, Caryota mitis (Arecaceae), in Singapore

Cited by 2 publications

References 40 publications

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

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

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

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