Are giraffes pollinators or flower predators of Acacia nigrescens in Kruger National Park, South Africa?
نویسندگان
چکیده
We examined the relationship between giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) and Acacia nigrescens in Kruger National Park, South Africa, to determine whether these tall ungulates may be providing a pollination service for the trees, or are simply flower predators. We quantified florivory and subsequent fruit set in the presence and absence of giraffes.Acacia nigrescens flowers are clearly a substantial dietary component for giraffes. AlthoughA. nigrescens flowers contain almost three times as much condensed tannin as leaves, giraffes consume large quantities of flowers (∼85% of flowers within reach), resulting in distinct browse lines on the trees. This substantial florivory is detrimental to the overall fecundity of A. nigrescens, with significantly reduced fruit set at heights on trees that are accessible to giraffes. Fruit set increased above the reach of giraffes, suggesting successful pollination by insects. Giraffes were effectively flower predators of A. nigrescens in the season we examined.
منابع مشابه
Winning by a neck: tall giraffes avoid competing with smaller browsers
With their vertically elongated body form, giraffes generally feed above the level of other browsers within the savanna browsing guild, despite having access to foliage at lower levels. They ingest more leaf mass per bite when foraging high in the tree, perhaps because smaller, more selective browsers deplete shoots at lower levels or because trees differentially allocate resources to promote s...
متن کاملWinning by a neck: tall giraffes avoid competing with shorter browsers.
With their vertically elongated body form, giraffes generally feed above the level of other browsers within the savanna browsing guild, despite having access to foliage at lower levels. They ingest more leaf mass per bite when foraging high in the tree, perhaps because smaller, more selective browsers deplete shoots at lower levels or because trees differentially allocate resources to promote s...
متن کاملThe effect of veld-burning on the seasonal abundance of free-living ixodid ticks as determined by drag-sampling.
A supervised veld-burn in the Sclerocarya caffra/Acacia nigrescens Savanna landscape zone in the south-eastern region of the Kruger National Park was carried out during September 1988. The effect of the fire on the free-living tick population was determined by comparing the numbers of ticks collected by monthly drag-sampling in the burnt zone with those collected in an adjacent unburnt zone ove...
متن کاملA revision of the water beetle genus Hydraena Kugelann for southern Africa (Coleoptera: Hydraenidae).
The southern African species of the water beetle genus Hydraena Kugelann, 1794, are revised. Twenty-eight new species are described, and redescriptions and new collection records are given for three previously described species, based on the examination and databasing of 11,534 specimens from 488 localities/events. Male genitalia are illustrated, and high resolution habitus images of the holoty...
متن کاملMycobacterium bovis in a Free-Ranging Black Rhinoceros, Kruger National Park, South Africa, 2016
In 2016, an emaciated black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) was found in Kruger National Park, South Africa. An interferon-γ response was detected against mycobacterial antigens, and lung tissue was positive for Mycobacterium bovis. This case highlights the risk that tuberculosis presents to rhinoceros in M. bovis-endemic areas.
متن کامل