Atlas of Seeds Dispersed by Bats in the Neotropics

Tatyana A. Lobova
and
Scott A. Mori
The New York Botanical Garden

In order to provide the tool needed for studying bat seed dispersal, an Atlas of Seeds Dispersed by Bats in the Neotropics is being prepared. The Seed Atlas will include original morphological and anatomical data with descriptions and images of the fruits and seeds of species of plants dispersed by bats throughout the New Word tropics. Both genera and species will be described. The generic treatments will include general characters such as habit and leaf features, infructescence, fruit and seed morphology, and fruit and seed anatomy. The parts of the infructescence/fruit or seed actually consumed by bats and the type of diaspore will be described. The species treatments will include descriptions of seed shape, size, color, and surface; hilum shape and position; seed coat structure; and endosperm and embryo characteristics. When the fruit is the diaspore, the description will be enhanced by fruit structure features. Specific characters helpful for seed identification at the species level will be noted. All known references to bat dispersal of the plant genus and species will be extracted from the Bat/Plant Interaction Database created at The New York Botanical Garden and now containing nearly 4000 records derived from reviews of 243 scientific papers. All species of bats known as dispersers for each plant species will be listed, and vouchers for plant specimens will be provided. Color photographs of plant habit, infructescences, fruits, intact seeds, seeds after they have passed through the digestive tract of bats, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs of the microscopic details of the seed and embryo structures will illustrate the descriptions. An interactive electronic key for the identification of the diaspores of plants dispersed by bats will be prepared.

Although the importance of bats as seed dispersers is well documented, there is still relatively little known about the diversity of plant species, and the diversity of structure and type of diaspores dispersed by bats. Hence, the significance of this project is that it will provide a tool for interdisciplinary research heretofore not available for testing hypotheses about bat/plant dispersal interactions. The proposed project will have a broad impact in achieving a better understanding of plant/animal coevolution as well as emphasizing the important ecological and evolutionary roles that bats play in tropical ecosystems, thereby promoting the conservation of the bats and the plants upon which they depend. The Seed Atlas will also be of practical use to botanists and ecologists studying seed dispersal, tropical forest dynamics and ecology, ecosystem structure, and in the preparation of local floras; to zoologists for understanding the diet of bats and other seed dispersers; to conservationists and park rangers for the identification, protection, and management of tropical plants dispersed by bats and the bats that depend on these plants for their survival; to paleobotanists and archeologists studying botanical remains; to students, tourists, and the general public in their efforts to learn more about plants; and to all those interested in plant/animal interactions.

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   Text and images from these pages should not be copied without the permission of the authors.
Correspondence about the Atlas of Seeds Dispersed by Bats in the Neotropics should be directed to
Tatyana Lobova (tlobova@odu.edu)

This material is based upon work supported by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization under a Grant awarded in 2003. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of NATO.

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