Kobayashi S, Panha S, Seesamut T, Nantarat N, Likhitrakarn N, Denda T, Izawa M. First record of non-flying mammalian contributors to pollination in a tropical montane forest in Asia.
Ecol Evol 2021;
11:17604-17608. [PMID:
35003626 PMCID:
PMC8717269 DOI:
10.1002/ece3.8361]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2021] [Revised: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
This study aims to identify the flower visitors of Mucuna thailandica (Fabaceae), endemic plant species in montane forests in Thailand, to determine their potential pollinators. The genus Mucuna produces papilionaceous flowers and has an explosive flower-opening step. Explosive opening rapidly exposes stamens and pistil from keel petals and releases pollen. The flower of this species depends completely on animals to perform this step, essential for pollination success. Using a camera trap survey, we revealed that non-flying mammals, such as squirrels (Callosciurus sp.) and masked palm civets (Paguma larvata), opened flowers explosively. Thus, these mammals contribute to the pollination of M. thailandica. This is the first report of non-flying mammals contributing to pollination in montane forests in tropical Asia.
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