Do flying foxes limit flower abortion in African baobab (<i>Adansonia digitata</i>)? Case study in Benin, West Africa

Djossa, Bruno Agossou; Toni, Hermann Cyr; Adekanmbi, Ibrahim Dende; Tognon, Florida K.; Sinsin, Brice

doi:10.1051/fruits/2015029

Cited by 9 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Although previous research, all of it conducted in West or East Africa, has shown that African baobabs are primarily bat‐pollinated (Jaeger, 1945, 1950, 1954; Harris and Baker, 1959; Start, 1972; Ayensu, 1974; Baum et al, 199; Djossa et al, 2015), at our study sites in South Africa we observed high visitation rate of hawkmoths, but no bat visits. The lack of flower‐visiting bats is corroborated by citizen science efforts conducted with local residents (Taylor et al, 2020) and by observations during other flowering seasons by one the authors (SMV).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 73%

“…The number of open flowers directly within a field of view was recorded to estimate the number of visits per flower per hour. To complement our observations, in the early morning we looked for evidence of claw scratch marks on petals that would indicate bat visitations (Djossa et al, 2015).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their large, white flowers, which are borne on long, pendent peduncles (Figure 1a), are “musty” smelling and nocturnal (Breitenbach & Breitenbach, 1974; Faegri & van der Pijl, 1979; Baum, ). Indeed, previous research in West and East Africa has shown that baobabs are primarily bat‐pollinated (Jaeger, 1945, 1950, 1954; Harris and Baker, 1959; Start, 1972; Ayensu, 1974; Baum, ; Djossa et al, 2015), although some pollination, at least in East Africa, may be due to bushbabies ( Galago spp. ; Coe & Isaac, 1965).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evidence for hawkmoth pollination in the chiropterophilous African baobab (Adansonia digitata)

et al. 2021

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Chiropterophily, or bat pollination, is typically considered a highly specialized pollination system that has evolved independently numerous times across the angiosperm phylogeny, with distinct lineages often converging on a similar suite of floral traits. The African baobab, Adansonia digitata, occurs widespread across continental Africa and introduced throughout much of the tropics, possesses floral traits classically associated with bat pollination, namely nocturnal anthesis, pendulous white flowers, and a “musky” fragrance. Despite this, our observations and pollination exclusion experiments in South African baobab populations suggested little if any role for bats, but instead showed that hawkmoths are the main pollinators. Hand pollination indicated strong self‐incompatibility and crossing experiments suggest minimal diurnal receptivity. Furthermore, our analyses of floral volatiles revealed not only sulfur‐containing compounds, commonly associated with bat pollination, but also a high concentration of the sesquiterpene β‐caryophyllene, a compound generally more typical of hawkmoth pollination. Comparing previous pollination studies and published floral scent profiles from West Africa suggests that the classic bat pollination system in baobabs may be more labile than previously thought. This study provides an empirical example of a species that most likely evolved due to bat pollination yet has some degree of generality and possible geographic variation in floral traits and pollinator visitation patterns across its range.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 73%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evidence for hawkmoth pollination in the chiropterophilous African baobab (Adansonia digitata)

et al. 2021

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“…There could be a number of reasons for the lack of fruit bat pollination, most possibly the low food availability and low fruit bat densities in northern Limpopo Province and southern Africa in the semi-arid areas where baobabs occur. In Benin, fruit bat pollination was found to be much lower in dry areas compared to wetter areas [35]. There are three fruit bat genera potentially occurring in our study area in southern Africa, and the distribution of specimen records seems to be closely tied to major river valleys (Figure 1).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Visits lasted 5 to 10 s before the bat dropped away from the flower covered in pollen and leaving the flowers with clearly defined claw marks on the petals. In West Africa, in Senegal and Benin, high rates of baobab flower visitation by Eidolon helvum was marked by a high prevalence of flowers having distinctive claw marks from the fruit bats [17,35].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizen Science Confirms the Rarity of Fruit Bat Pollination of Baobab (Adansonia digitata) Flowers in Southern Africa

et al. 2020

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The iconic African baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) has "chiropterophilous" flowers that are adapted for pollination by fruit bats. Although bat pollination of baobabs has been documented in east and west Africa, it has not been confirmed in southern Africa where it has been suggested that hawk moths (Nephele comma) may also be involved in baobab pollination. We used a citizen science approach to monitor baobab tree and flower visitors from dusk till midnight at 23 individual baobab trees over 27 nights during the flowering seasons (November-December) of 2016 and 2017 in northern South Africa and southern Zimbabwe (about 1650 visitors). Insect visitors frequently visited baobab flowers, including hawk moths, but, with one exception in southeastern Zimbabwe, no fruit bats visited flowers. Citizen science enabled us to substantiate preliminary conclusions about the relative importance of moth versus bat pollination of baobabs in southern Africa, with important implications for resource management.Diversity 2020, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 20 average minimum and maximum temperatures in the area have increased by around 1.2 °C and the number of extremely hot days (>35 °C) per summer has increased by 22 days [29,30].

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Baobab fruiting is driven by scale-dependent mediation of plant size and landscape features

Krishnamoorthy¹,

Webala

Kingston³

2022

Landsc Ecol

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Do flying foxes limit flower abortion in African baobab (Adansonia digitata)? Case study in Benin, West Africa

Cited by 9 publications

References 22 publications

Evidence for hawkmoth pollination in the chiropterophilous African baobab (Adansonia digitata)

Evidence for hawkmoth pollination in the chiropterophilous African baobab (Adansonia digitata)

Citizen Science Confirms the Rarity of Fruit Bat Pollination of Baobab (Adansonia digitata) Flowers in Southern Africa

Baobab fruiting is driven by scale-dependent mediation of plant size and landscape features

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