Are giraffes pollinators or flower predators of Acacia nigrescens in Kruger National Park, South Africa?

Fleming, Patricia A.; Hofmeyr, Sally; Nicolson, Susan W.; Toit, Du

doi:10.1017/s0266467405003123

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Moreover, plant height determines susceptibility to browsing by many mammalian herbivores (Bergström 1992). In savannas, where fire is a major driver of woody plant dynamics, the susceptibility of trees to fire induced stem mortality is closely linked to their height (Hoffmann 1998, Archibald and Bond 2003, Fleming et al 2006, Bond 2009). The importance of height implies that size‐structured models are required to accurately represent woody plant dynamics (Hanan et al 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling direct and indirect impacts of browser consumption on woody plant growth: moving beyond biomass

Moncrieff

Chamaillé‐Jammes

Bond

2013

Oikos

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Models and experimental studies of the impact of mammalian browsing on plant populations typically use biomass to quantify resource pools and herbivore impacts. For many woody plant populations, however, plant height is a better measure of fitness than biomass. We describe a function that links browsing to shoot and height growth by considering both the direct impact of biomass consumption and the effect of bud-loss. The relative importance of direct consumption and bud-loss for height and shoot growth is tested through experimental clipping. Experimental results are used to parameterize and compare the performance of our function. We show that the impacts of bud-loss are indeed significant for both shoot and height growth and may cause the responses of biomass and height to diverge. We also show that our function results in an improved fit to experimental results when compared with a linear function only describing the direct impact of consumption. These results suggest that the demographic impacts of browsing may diverge from the responses expected for biomass based on herbivore consumption alone. Particularly, height growth can be drastically reduced at low and intermediate levels of consumption if the impacts of bud-loss on shoot growth are high.

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confidence: 99%

Modelling direct and indirect impacts of browser consumption on woody plant growth: moving beyond biomass

Moncrieff

Chamaillé‐Jammes

Bond

2013

Oikos

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“…In contrast 70% of trees outside of the home range of the spider monkey group fruited. Similarly, giraffes ( Giraffa camelopardalis ) consumed approximately 85% of Acacia nigrescens flowers within the height range they can reach, which significantly reduced flower set (Fleming et al , 2006). While insect florivory has been described in a number of studies (McCall and Irwin, 2006), the impact of mammals has received little attention (but see Marell et al , 2009; Pearson et al , 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Markhamia lutea’s abundance determined by animal foraging?

Chapman¹,

Bonnell²,

Sengupta³

et al. 2013

Forest Ecology and Management

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Understanding the determinants of tropical forest tree richness and spatial distribution is a central goal of forest ecology; however, the role of herbivorous mammals has received little attention. Here we explore the potential for red colobus monkeys (Procolobus rufomitratus) to influence the abundance of Markhamia lutea trees in a tropical forest by feeding extensively on the tree’s flowers, such that this tree population is not able to regularly set fruit. Using 14 years of data from Kibale National Park, Uganda, we quantify M. lutea flower and fruit production. Similarly, using 21 years of data, we quantify temporal changes in the abundance of stems in size classes from 1 m tall and above. Our analyses demonstrate that M. lutea is rarely able to produce fruit and that this corresponds to a general decline in its abundance across all size classes. Moreover, using 7 years of feeding records, we demonstrate that red colobus feed on M. lutea, consuming large amounts of leaf and flower buds whenever they were available, suggesting that this behavior limits fruit production. Therefore, we suggest that red colobus are presently important for structuring the distribution and abundance of M. lutea in Kibale. This dynamic raises the intriguing question of how a large M. lutea population was able to originally establish. There is no evidence of a change in red colobus population size; however, if this old-growth forest is in a non-equilibrium state, M. lutea may have become established when red colobus ate a different diet.

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“…In South Africa’s Kruger National Park, flowering trees and shrubs form a significant component of the native flora (Scholes, Bond & Eckhardt, 2003; Fleming et al. , 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These plants also provide important browse for large or abundant mammal species, including African elephant [ Loxodonta africana (Blumenbach)], giraffe [ Giraffa camelopardalis (L.)], greater kudu [ Tragelaphus strepsiceros (Pallas)], nyala [ T. angasii (Gray)], and impala ( Aepyceros melampus (Lichtenstein) (Du Toit, 2003; Skarpe et al. , 2004; Fleming et al. , 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity and abundance of insect visitors to flowers of trees and shrubs in a South African savannah

Mawdsley

Sithole

2010

African Journal of Ecology

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This study presents the results of a landscape‐scale survey for insect floral visitors in the Skukuza Ranger District, Kruger National Park, South Africa. Floral visitors were sampled from flowering trees and shrubs along linear transects spanning the entire district. Six plant species were sampled in the late dry season (Acacia grandicornuta Gerstner, A. nigrescens Oliver, Cassia abbreviata Oliver, Combretum hereroense Schinz, Combretum zeyheri Sonder, Euclea divonorum Hiern), and eleven plant species were sampled during the rainy season (Acacia exuvialis Verdcourt, A. grandicornuta Gerstner, A. nilotica (L.) Willdenow, A. tortilis (Forsskal) Hayne, Dichrostachys cinerea Miquel, Flueggea virosa (Roxburgh) Baillon, Grewia bicolor Jussieu, G. flava De Candolle, G. flavescens Jussieu, G. monticola Sonder, and Peltophorum africanum Sonder). Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera comprised the majority of floral visitors, while species of Blattodea, Diptera, Hemiptera and Neuroptera also occurred on flowers. Known or likely pollinators include bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Halictidae and Megachilidae) and scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). These plant species appear to have generalist pollination systems, with the exception of species of Grewia L., which appear to be pollinated primarily by bees. A provisional plant–pollinator food web is presented for the eleven species of trees and shrubs which flower during the rainy season.

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Are giraffes pollinators or flower predators of Acacia nigrescens in Kruger National Park, South Africa?

Cited by 21 publications

References 26 publications

Modelling direct and indirect impacts of browser consumption on woody plant growth: moving beyond biomass

Modelling direct and indirect impacts of browser consumption on woody plant growth: moving beyond biomass

Is Markhamia lutea’s abundance determined by animal foraging?

Diversity and abundance of insect visitors to flowers of trees and shrubs in a South African savannah

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