Rediscovery of the mistletoe Bakerella hoyifolia subsp. bojeri (Loranthaceae) on Reunion Island: population status assessment for its conservation

Albert Sébastien, Rhumeur A., Rivière J.L., Chauvrat A., Sauroy-Toucouère Sohan, Martos Florent, Strasberg Dominique. 2017. Rediscovery of the mistletoe Bakerella hoyifolia subsp. bojeri (Loranthaceae) on Reunion Island: population status assessment for its conservation. Botany Letters, 164 (3) : 229-236.

Quartile : Q3, Sujet : PLANT SCIENCES

Résumé : The mistletoe Bakerella hoyifolia subsp. bojeri (Baker) Balle was presumed extinct from Reunion Island, where it is native, for over 50 years. We recently found B. hoyifolia plants in a well-preserved forest stand in the southeastern part of the island. The small population consists of six individuals, distributed in two groups, ca. 50 m apart, growing on five host plant species from different families, suggesting a low host specificity. Each group is structured vertically with a large mistletoe established on an emerging tree while smaller mistletoes are seen on the trees below. Moreover, we observed the Reunion grey white-eye, Zosterops borbonicus (J. R. Forster, 1781) visiting flowers of these mistletoes found on Reunion. Further investigations are required in order to clarify the genetic isolation and taxonomic position of this population relative to those in Mauritius and Madagascar, and the mechanisms that have caused its decline on Reunion. Two possible mechanisms are discussed. The loss of most frugivorous vertebrates on Reunion Island soon after human settlement, may have driven this mistletoe to extinction. Among rapid conservation actions, propagation from seeds should be carried out in order to prevent the extinction of this native plant population.

Mots-clés géographiques Agrovoc : La Réunion, France

Classification Agris : F70 - Taxonomie végétale et phytogéographie
F40 - Écologie végétale

Champ stratégique Cirad : Axe 6 (2014-2018) - Sociétés, natures et territoires

Auteurs et affiliations

• Albert Sébastien, Université de la Réunion (REU)
• Rhumeur A., CBN-CPIE Mascarin (REU)
• Rivière J.L.
• Chauvrat A.
• Sauroy-Toucouère Sohan, Université de la Réunion (REU)
• Martos Florent, CIRAD-BIOS-UMR PVBMT (REU)
• Strasberg Dominique, Université de la Réunion (REU)

Source : Cirad-Agritrop (https://agritrop.cirad.fr/587630/)

Métriques

[ Page générée et mise en cache le 2024-11-27 ]