Table 1 - uploaded by Hema Somanathan
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Our understanding of processes underlying plant recruitment emerges from species and habitats that are widely distributed
at regional and global scales. However, the applicability of dispersal-recruitment models and the role of dispersal limitation
versus microsite limitation have not been examined for specialised habitats. In patchy, freshwater My...
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Context 1
... inferred density-and distance-dependent survival beyond the seedling stage from previous seasons' crop by recording the number of M. fatua saplings (height = 0-5 m) under parent crowns and away from crowns (nearest female tree at least 5 m away) in the three main study swamps (S1, S2, L1) and in five additional Myristica swamp patches (S3, S4, L2, L3 and L4; Table S1). Saplings recorded away from crowns included those in the swamp interior and edge. ...
Context 2
... following additional information is available in the online version of this article: File 1. Map of the Western Ghats in India, showing the study region along with a schematic of study sites and a brief description of habitat structure of the three main study sites. Table S1. Summary of study sites ...
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Citations
... Two species of bees (Apis cerana and Tetragonula spp.) also regularly visit and pollinate M. fatua in southern India. These studies concur with the studies by Sharma and Shivanna (2011) which show bees, thrips, and beetles as the predominant pollinators of M. dactyloides, another species of Myristica genus found in the Western Ghats (Sharma and Shivanna 2011;Krishna and Somanathan 2018). Another critical interaction within swamps is seed dispersal. ...
... Another critical interaction within swamps is seed dispersal. Large frugivorous birds such as the Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris), Malabar Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus), Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus), and Mountain Imperial Pigeon (Ducula badia), as well as arboreal mammals including the Malabar giant squirrel, lion-tailed macaque and Nilgiri langur (Semnopithecus johnii), are known to disperse seeds of Myristicaceae (Tambat 2007;Krishna and Somanathan 2018). Freshwater crabs (Barytelphusa guerini and Travancoriana schirnerae) feed on lipid-rich arils and act as secondary seed dispersers of swampspecialist tree species, including M. fatua (Krishna and Somanathan 2014). ...
Myristica swamps are tree-covered wetlands within the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, India. Even with their little-known biota, the swamps are virtually a live museum that is of great interest to biologists. The swamps harbour several rare-relic floristic and faunal taxa, comprising many endemic and threatened species. Most of the plant species in the swamp are highly restricted in their distribution and have several structural and physiological modifications. These swamps are one of the most unique and primeval ecosystems of the Western Ghats. They once formed a large hydrological network all along the Western Ghats, but due to increased human pressure, these now exist as small, isolated pockets and are one of the most threatened ecosystems in India. The presumed widespread loss of Myristica swamps and other perennial freshwater swamps calls for intensive research on the ecosystem services provided by these swamps, their landscape value and the function they play in watershed dynamics. Swamps are primarily drained for areca gardens and paddy fields. The swamps of the Western Ghats are threatened with extinction, yet scientists know little about them. Studies on flora and faunal diversity of these swamps exist, but the research gaps are notable when it comes to the hydrology, soil studies, and ecosystem services provided by these swamps. Further research is needed on these three topics in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the abiotic factors governing swamps and to formulate a rationale for their preservation. There is also a lack of research on the potential impacts of climate change and population growth on these swamps. This review highlights the importance of these freshwater swamps, their ecology and prior research on them, and focuses on the need for conservation initiatives to save the last few swamps.
... It is crucial to understand the pollination ecology of this species as it has been categorized as endangered (IUCN 2000) and recent studies have shown that climate change scenarios through modified hydrological regimes could result in population declines in this swamp specialist species (Priti et al. 2016). Moreover, M. fatua seeds are also dispersed by large frugivorous birds such as hornbills and threatened primates such as Macaca silenus and Trachypithecus johnii (Krishna and Somanathan 2016) and secondarily dispersed by freshwater crabs (Krishna and Somanathan 2014). Thus, insights into the reproductive biology of specialists such as M. fatua are considered critical. ...
Myristica fatua is a dioecious specialist species restricted to the endangered, freshwater Myristica swamp forests in the Western Ghats, India. Earlier studies have alluded to pollination by deception in members of the Myristica genus, and thus we examined the pollination ecology comprising floral biology, flower production, flower visitors, and reproductive success in M. fatua and inferred the potential strategies that could permit such deception in this habitat specialist tree. Male flowers provide pollen rewards for an extended period of time while female flowers are rewardless and both sexes are visited by generalist insects, mainly by honeybees and stingless bees. Bee visits were significantly more frequent and longer on male than on female flowers as bees collected pollen from male flowers. We found that flower production patterns create a preponderance of males compared to females in the swamp populations. Using a model of honeybee color vision, we found the distance between the color loci of male and female flowers and based on minimum visual angle subtended by these flowers, we suggest that the two floral sexes cannot be discriminated by bees. Bees are likely deceived by the perceptual similarity of rewardless female flowers to pollen-offering male flowers and pollination is the consequence of foraging errors made by pollinators that encounter largely male–rarely female flower mosaics as they forage among clump-distributed M. fatua trees in the swamp habitat.
