by
Nancy
B. Simmons and Robert
S. Voss
Department of Mammalogy
American Museum of Natural History
simmons@amnh.org and voss@amnh.org
and
Scott A. Mori
Institute of Systematic Botany
The New York Botanical Garden
smori@nybg.org
Lecythis poiteaui. |
Caryocar glabrum subsp. glabrum. |
Central French Guiana may be home to as many as eight bat species that are obligate or predominant nectarivores (Appendix I), and an additional 29 bat species that are known or suspected opportunistic nectarivores (Appendix II).
Over 1861 species of flowering plants (426 species of monocots and 1435
species of dicots) comprise the known
flora (Mori & Brown, 1998; Mori et al., 1997, in review). Bats
play an important role in pollination as well as in the dispersal
of flowering plants (Gardner, 1977). In central French Guiana, the extent
of bat pollination has not yet been determined. Many of the plant species
occurring there are known to be bat-pollinated in other parts of their
range, a few of which are the zygomorphic, green-petalled Lecythis
poiteaui (Lecythidaceae); the long-stamened Caryocar
glabrum subsp. glabrum; the bottle-brush-flowered Parkia
nitida; and the tubular, light colored flowers of Markea
sessiliflora. Although Neotropical bat flowers are diverse in morphology,
most bat-pollinated species possess some combination of nocturnal flowers,
inflorescences produced free from the foliage thereby providing easier
access to the flowers by bats (Pijl, 1957), a musky aroma dominated by
sulphur-containing compounds (Knudsen & Tollsten, 1995), and a relatively
dilute nectar rich in hexose sugar (Baker et al., 1998).
Parkia nitida. |
Markea camponoti. |
A long-term goal of our bat/plant research in central French Guiana
is to provide information about what plants are pollinated by what bats
and what bats are pollinators of plants. Preliminary lists of obligate
(Appendix
I) and opportunistic (Appendix
II) nectarivores have already been prepared based on a comparison of
the bats known to occur at Paracou (Simmons & Voss, 1998) and Arataye
(Voss & Emmons, 1996), French Guiana with information about bat dietary
preferences in Gardner (1977). A list of plants known to be pollinated
by bats is under preparation.
Literature Cited
Baker, H. G., I. Baker & S. A. Hodges. 1998. Sugar composition of nectars and fruits consumed by birds and bats in the tropics and subtropics. Biotropica 30(4): 559-586.
Gardner, A. L. 1977. Feeding habits. Pages 293-350 in R. J. Baker, J. K. Jones & D. C. Carter (eds.), Biology of bats of the New World family Phyllostomatidae. Part II. Spec. Publ. Mus. Texas Tech. Univ., Lubbock.
Knudsen, J. T. & L. Tollsten. 1995. Floral scent in bat-pollinated plants: a case of convergent evolution. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 119: 45-57.
Mori, S. A. & J. L. Brown. 1998. Epizoochorous dispersal by barbs, hooks, and spines in a lowland moist forest in central French Guiana. Brittonia 50(2): 165-173.
Mori, S. A., G. Cremers, C. Gracie, J.-J. de Granville, M. Hoff & J. D. Mitchell. 1997. Guide to the vascular plants of central French Guiana. Part 1. Pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and monocotyledons. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 76(1): 1-422.
Mori, S. A., G. Cremers, C. Gracie, J.-J. de Granville, S. V. Heald & J. D. Mitchell. In review. Guide to the vascular plants of central French Guiana. Part 2. Dicotyledons. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 76(2): 000-000.
Pijl, L. van der. 1957. The dispersal of plants by bats (Cheiropterochory). Acta Bot. Nederlandica 6: 291-315.
Simmons, N. B. & R. S. Voss. 1998. The mammals of Paracou, French Guiana: A Neotropical lowland rainforest fauna. Part 1. Bats. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 237: 1-219.
Voss, R. S. & L. H. Emmons. 1996. Mammalian diversity in
Neotropical lowland rainforests: a preliminary assessment. Bull. Amer.
Mus. Nat. Hist. 230: 1-115.