Volume 24, Issue 73, January - June, 2023

Phenological patterns and fruit-frugivore interactions of Sterculia guttata Roxb. in a tropical moist deciduous forest of southern Western Ghats, India

VM Thasini^1,2♦, VB Sreekumar¹, KA Sreejith¹

¹Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation Division, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Thrissur, Kerala 680 653, India
²Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, Kerala 682 022, India

^♦Corresponding author
Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation Division, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Thrissur, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, Kerala India

ABSTRACT

The observation on phenological patterns and fruit-frugivore interactions of Sterculia guttata Roxb. was carried out in the moist deciduous forest of Peechi- Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary. In S. guttata, leaf budding began in March and leaf senescence started in November. Flower budding was initiated in September and fruit setting occurred in October. Fruit maturation happened in January and fruit senescence closely followed the maturation of fruits. At maturity, follicles turn red and dehisce to expose black seeds, which might have attracted frugivores. A total of seven species of birds and two species of mammals were found to feed on the seeds of S. guttata during the study period. All the birds swallowed the whole seeds and there was no evidence of seed predation from them. Unlike birds, mammals bit and chewed the seeds and were found to be the major seed predators. Furthermore, these frugivores dropped a large number of seeds under the parent trees while feeding. The present study revealed that S. guttata suffered high levels of seed predation, resulting in limited seed dispersal and thereby affecting their survival.

Keywords: Frugivores, Phenology, Seed dispersal, Seed predation, Sterculia guttata

Species, 2023, 24(73), e16s1016

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v24i73/e16s1016

Published: 18 February 2023