The palm Mauritia flexuosa, a keystone plant resource on multiple fronts

Abstract

Keystone species are organisms, usually animals of higher trophic levels, that have large ecological impacts relative to their abundance. A recent extension of this concept recognizes hyperkeystone species, such as humans, which affect other keystone species and often play a key role in multiple ecosystem dynamics. Following a systematic review, we propose that the Neotropical palm species Mauritia flexuosa, though abundant locally, plays a role resembling that of a hyperkeystone species. First, it provides multiple types of key plant resources (food, nest sites, habitat) to a wide variety of species (at least 940 vertebrate species). Of vertebrates that directly use this palm as a food or nest resource (at least 74), at least 8 highly dependent on it for survival, 28 are threatened species, and at least 19 are keystone species themselves. This implies that a change in the abundance or distribution of Mauritia flexuosa is likely to have multiple cascading effects on Neotropical ecosystems. In addition, we highlight that this palm is also important for many invertebrates and other organisms and provides multiple ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration. This vast ecological role of M. flexuosa, combined with its provision of a host of products to people, makes the species unique and worth prioritizing in conservation and plans for sustainable management across the Neotropics.

Mapping Single Palm-Trees Species in Forest Environments with a Deep Convolutional Neural Network

“…The study compares the performance of the proposed method with other state-ofthe-art object detection deep neural networks to test its robustness. The palm tree M. flexuosa is a valuable source of food, remedy, fiber, and light wood for both indigenous communities and local populations (61)(62)(63). It is also considered a native species of the Brazilian flora with both current and potential high economic values (62,64).…”

“…It is also considered a native species of the Brazilian flora with both current and potential high economic values (62,64). Besides, this species has its ecological importance, constituting a food source, nest site, and habitat to a wide variety of species and provides multiple ecosystem services (63,65,66), which highlights the need to accurately map this species.…”

Phytochemical screening and DPPH radical scavenging activity of three morphotypes of Mauritia flexuosa L.f. from Peru, and thermal stability of a milk-based beverage enriched with carotenoids from these fruits

“…Other parts of this palm are also used. From the leaves, fibers are obtained for domestic use and crafts; the leaves are used directly on the roof of rustic houses while pulp for paper is obtained from the petiole ( Del Castillo et al., 2006 ; Manzi and Coomes, 2009 ; Gilmore et al., 2013 ; van der Hoek et al., 2019 ).…”

Estructura poblacional de Mauritia flexuosa y Oenocarpus bataua en tres comunidades de la cuenca alta del Putumayo, frontera Perú - Colombia

“…La producción promedio de cosecha de una palma puede alcanzar en promedio 71 kilos de frutos al año. Desempeña un papel muy importante dentro de la cadena trófica del bosque, pues constituye el principal alimento de mamíferos y otros vertebrados (Aquino, 2005;Beck, 2006;Van der Hoek et al, 2019;Gilmore et al, 2013).…”