Idioma:

A comparison of nutritional value of native and alien food plants for a critically endangered island flying-fox

Pulscher, Laura A ; Dierenfeld, Ellen S ; Welbergen, Justin A ; Rose, Karrie A ; Phalen, David N Vincenot, Christian

PloS one, 2021-05, Vol.16 (5), p.e0250857-e0250857 [Periódico revisado por pares]

United States: Public Library of Science

Texto completo disponível

Citações Citado por

Enviar para

Título:
A comparison of nutritional value of native and alien food plants for a critically endangered island flying-fox
Autor: Pulscher, Laura A ; Dierenfeld, Ellen S ; Welbergen, Justin A ; Rose, Karrie A ; Phalen, David N
Vincenot, Christian
Assuntos: Biology and Life Sciences ; Calcium ; Conservation ; Conservation organizations ; Data analysis ; Dispersal ; Earth Sciences ; Ecology and Environmental Sciences ; Ecosystem services ; Ecosystems ; Editing ; Endangered plants ; Endangered species ; Flowers & plants ; Food ; Food plants ; Fruits ; Funding ; Keystone species ; Medicine and Health Sciences ; Methodology ; Nectar ; Nutrient requirements ; Nutrients ; Nutrition ; Nutrition research ; Nutritional requirements ; Nutritive value ; Pollen ; Pollination ; Requirements ; Reviews ; Seed dispersal ; Wildlife conservation ; Wildlife habitats
É parte de: PloS one, 2021-05, Vol.16 (5), p.e0250857-e0250857
Notas: ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Descrição: Habitat loss and alteration are two of the biggest threats facing insular flying-foxes. Altered habitats are often re-vegetated with introduced or domestic plant species on which flying-foxes may forage. However, these alien food plants may not meet the nutritional requirements of flying-foxes. The critically endangered Christmas Island flying-fox (CIFF; Pteropus natalis) is subject to habitat alteration and the introduction of alien food plants, and therefore is a good model species to evaluate the potential impact of alien plant species on insular flying-foxes. In this study, we evaluated nutritional content of native food plants to determine how flying-foxes historically met their nutritional requirements. Furthermore, we compared the nutritional content of native and alien fruits to predict possible impacts of alien plants on insular flying-foxes. Native and alien fruits and flowers, and native foliage (leaves, petals, and petioles) commonly consumed by the CIFF were collected and evaluated for soluble sugars, crude protein, non-fiber carbohydrates, and nine minerals. Evaluation of native food plants suggests that flying-foxes meet energy requirements by consuming fruit and nectar. However, fruit and nectar are low in protein and essential minerals required for demanding life periods; therefore, flying-foxes likely supplement their diets with pollen and foliage. Thus, flying-foxes require a diverse array of plants to meet their nutritional requirements. Compared to native fruits, alien fruits contained significantly higher non-fiber carbohydrates, and this may provide an important energy source, particularly from species that bear fruit year-round. Median mineral concentrations in alien fruit species, however, were deficient compared to native fruits, suggesting major (or even seasonal) shifts in the proportion of alien species in the CIFF diet could lead to nutritional imbalances. This study confirms the need to quantify nutritional parameters in addition to feeding ecology when evaluating habitat quality to inform conservation actions that can be applied both locally and globally.
Editor: United States: Public Library of Science
Idioma: Inglês

Links

View this record in MEDLINE/PubMed

Voltar para lista de resultados

Anterior Resultado 10 Avançar Ir para próxima página

Realização: Logos de Redes Sociais:

A comparison of nutritional value of native and alien food plants for a critically endangered island flying-fox

Pulscher, Laura A ; Dierenfeld, Ellen S ; Welbergen, Justin A ; Rose, Karrie A ; Phalen, David N Vincenot, Christian

United States: Public Library of Science

Buscando em bases de dados remotas. Favor aguardar.