[Pollinator] Excerpts about pollinators from recent Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFP)-Digest-L
Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov
Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov
Thu May 20 08:09:06 PDT 2010
The last three issues of FAO?s NWFP(Non-Wood Forest Products)-Digest-L
included several items on pollinator issues or species that may be of
interest to you.
FAO?s NWFP-Digest-L is a free e-mail journal that covers all aspects of
non-wood forest products. The most recent Digests are not posted on the
website yet (though they will be, eventually). Back issues of the Digest
may be found on FAO's NWFP home page: www.fao.org/forestry/site/12980/en
-Patricia
PS: I am cross-posting this to the MPWG listserve, so pardon the duplicate
email if you subscribe to both lists.
Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
Botanist - Division of Scientific Authority
Chair - Plant Conservation Alliance - Medicinal Plant Working Group
US Fish & Wildlife Service
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 110
Arlington, VA 22203
703-358-1708 x1753
FAX: 703-358-2276
Promoting sustainable use and conservation of our native medicinal plants.
<www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal>
==============================================================
NWFP-Digest-L
No. 4/10
==============================================================
27. Extinction of seed dispersers threat to forests and forest
communities
Source: www.mongabay.com, 7 March 2010
There are few areas of research in tropical biology more exciting and more
important than seed dispersal. Seed dispersal?the process by which seeds
are spread from parent trees to new sprouting ground?underpins the ecology
of forests worldwide. In temperate forests, seeds are often spread by wind
and water, though sometimes by animals such as squirrels and birds. But in
the tropics the emphasis is far heavier on the latter, as Dr.
Pierre-Michel Forget explains to mongabay.com.
"[In rainforests] a majority of plants, trees, lianas, epiphytes, and
herbs, are dispersed by fruit-eating animals. [?] As seed size varies from
tiny seeds less than one millimetre to several centimetres in length or
diameter, then, a variety of animals are required to disperse such a
continuum and variety of seed size, the smaller being transported by ants
and dung beetles, the larger swallowed by cassowary, tapir and elephant,
for instance."
Forget, a French tropical ecologist, is chairing the 5th Frugivore and
Seed Dispersal International Symposium held in Montpellier, France from
13-18 June. Forget has studied the relation between seeds and fruit-eating
species both in South America and Central Africa, focusing mostly on
mammals.
"Indeed, when you observe the understory and see that profusion of
seedlings, it is not always obvious that there is some type of order,
seedlings being not really randomly dispersed, rather directed-dispersed
at some peculiar microhabitats," he says.
Yet, the species so important to successfully spreading tropical seeds are
also some of the most threatened. Their decline?and in some case absence
altogether?spells a fall in forest richness.
"If you consider large-bodied, plant-dependent and seed-dispersing
animals, they are all threatened by hunting, deforestation, fragmentation,
mining, dam and road construction," Forget says. "Many of fragmented
forests, even some natural parks and reserves, now lack the large
ungulates, primates and birds that disperse seeds. Extinction is sometimes
very recent due to uncontrolled development of large-scale agriculture,
poaching and logging."
Forget points out that when it comes to seed dispersers it's not global
extinction that one must focus on, but local extinction and even a decline
in wildlife abundance.
"If spider monkeys are protected in a remote forest of the Peruvian
Amazon, it won?t help much those trees of French Guiana," he says.
"Additionally, when large frugivores are exterminated, because it?s also
an important source of protein for native people inhabiting rainforest, we
are also endangering survival of autochtonous populations. And that has to
be considered in conservation plans. Not only will we lose natural
diversity, but humanity will also lose cultural diversity."
Forget argues that to date the role of seed dispersers has largely been
left out of conservation discussions, even though these species' actions
underpin entire ecological communities. According to Forget, the current
focus on the conservation of pollinators?such as bees?tells only part of
the story.
"Now that stakeholders recognized the important ecological role of bees
for the pollination of flowers and the production of fruit, they must now
acknowledge that without frugivores, those crops will remain in tree
crown, fall to the ground, and rot without primary and secondary seed
dispersers. It?s a waste of carbon for the ecosystems. Thus, saving the
bees from extinction is only half of the work done," he says.
For full story, please see:
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0307-hance_forget.html
47. The Language of bees
Source: Environmental News Network, 24 February 2010
Bees communicate their floral findings in order to recruit other worker
bees of the hive to forage in the same area. There are two main hypotheses
to explain how foragers recruit other workers; the "waggle dance" theory
and the "odor plume" theory. The dance language theory is far more widely
accepted, and has far more empirical support.
Honeybees do not only waggle dance to tell hive mates the whereabouts of
good eats, they also bump and beep to warn others when big trouble awaits
at some of those floral diners according to a recent study.
In 1947, Karl von Frisch correlated the runs and turns of the dance to the
distance and direction of the food source from the hive. The orientation
of the dance correlates to the relative position of the sun to the food
source, and the length of the waggle portion of the run is correlated to
the distance from the hive. Also, the more vigorous the display is, the
better the food.
There seem to be two types of dances: the circle for food less than 100
meters distant and the figure 8 for longer distances.
Now there is the discovery of the "stop" or warning signal as the first
negative or "inhibitory" message ever found in bees.
Previously the only recognized messages were all about how good and where
the nectar was at various locations relative to hive.
"Originally people called it a begging signal," said bee researcher James
Nieh of the University of California at San Diego, regarding what was for
20 years considered a mysterious behavior. "It's usually produced by
butting the head and giving a short beep" to another bee that is in the
middle of providing information to the hive about a specific feeding site.
So Nieh and his assistants devised a series of experiments to simulate
attacks by predatory crab spiders or by bees from competing colonies.
"In all causes we found yes, they all significantly increased 'stop'
signals," Nieh confirmed.
His results are reported in the February. 23 issue of the journal Current
Biology.
For full story, please see: www.enn.com/top_stories/article/41045
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NWFP-Digest-L
No. 5/10
==============================================================
26. Trinidad and Tobago: Forests?much more than timber
Source: The Guardian (Trinidad and Tobago), 20 March 2010
In an effort to remind communities of the importance of forests and the
benefits they receive from them, 21 March is set aside internationally to
celebrate World Forestry Day. This concept originated at the 23rd General
Assembly of the European Confederation of Agriculture in 1971, and since
then, countries around the world have set up programmes and policies aimed
at the sustainable management of forest resources to provide for their
social, economic, ecological and cultural needs.
In observing World Forestry Day, the Environmental Management
Authority (EMA) encouraged the people of Trinidad and Tobago to take time
to appreciate the value of the country?s forest resources. Historically,
forests have played important social and cultural roles in the lives of
many people, especially those of indigenous communities.
Today, many are realizing that forests offer much more than
just timber. Forests provide recreational opportunities and contribute to
our health and wellbeing, as well as the regulation of local temperatures
and protection of drinking water supplies. Trees form the foundations of
many natural systems, and as such provide a wide range of products
(timber, fruit, medicine, beverages, fodder) and services (carbon
sequestration, wind breaks, water quality and quantity control, coastal
protection, shade, beautification, erosion control, soil fertility). The
forests of Trinidad and Tobago are home to a wide variety of faunal
biodiversity which facilitate pollination, seed dispersal and germination.
This internationally-recognized environmental day is also set
aside to promote education and awareness of the importance of forests and
the benefits of planting trees. Examples of biodiverse forests in this
country include Matura National Park, which was declared an
environmentally sensitive area in 2004, and Main Ridge Forest Reserve in
Tobago, which is the oldest protected watershed in the western hemisphere,
declared in 1776.
For these reasons, the EMA embraced the opportunity to
collaborate in a project with the Ministry of Planning Housing and the
Environment, the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land
and Marine Resources, University of the West Indies and the Institute of
Marine Affairs, among others, called the Nariva Restoration and Carbon
Sequestration and Livelihoods Project.
This project will ultimately see the replanting of 1 300
hectares of the Nariva Swamp, in areas that were formerly deforested by
large-scale rice farmers more than a decade ago. Nariva Swamp, the
country?s largest and most biodiverse wetland, has been declared an
environmentally-sensitive area under the Environmentally-Sensitive Area
Rules, 2001. It has the most varied vegetation of all wetlands in Trinidad
and Tobago, with distinct zones of tropical rainforest, palm forests,
mangroves and grass savanna/marsh.
For full story, please see:
http://guardian.co.tt/features/life/2010/03/20/forests-much-more-timber
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NWFP-Digest-L
No. 6/10
==============================================================
51. Self-pollinating almond trees may replace California
beehives
Source: www.fresnobee.com (USA), 16 April 2010
Every spring, thousands of beehives are trucked into the San Joaquin
Valley (California, USA) for a massive pollination of almond trees.
Now all that could change as plant scientists and farmers begin trials of
self-pollinating almond trees that have been in development for years. If
it works, growers could save hundreds of thousands of dollars in
pollination costs.
Almonds are grown state-wide on more than 600 000 acres, and it is not
unusual for larger operations to spend more than US$1million to rent bees.
To help shave that expense, plant breeders have spent more than a decade
trying to develop an almond tree that can pollinate itself.
Those in the hunt to develop and market a self-pollinating almond tree
include Craig Ledbetter, a U.S. Department of Agriculture geneticist, the
University of California and private breeders.
The concept is not new. Self-pollinating trees have been used in Spain for
years. But Spanish almonds tend to have a hairy texture and a strong
almond taste.
Ledbetter's challenge was to isolate the self-pollination traits of the
Spanish tree and the mild taste and smoother texture of the nonpareil to
create a new tree. After years of crossbreeding, Ledbetter believes he has
found the right combination.
The USDA's new tree will be part of a field trial by the Almond Board of
California, the industry's marketing and research arm. Trees from the
University of California and private nurseries also will be evaluated.
Beekeepers say they are not overly concerned about being put out of
business.
"I think you will see a natural gravitation to these new trees," said
Roger Everett, a beekeeper and president of the California State
Beekeepers Association. "But ... some growers won't change because they
know bees improve their yields, and they won't want to stop."
For full story, please see:
www.fresnobee.com/2010/04/16/1899807/self-pollinating-almond-trees.html
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