An investigation into the role of the Mauritian flying fox, Pteropus niger, in forest regeneration

This study was conducted over a 7-month period in the south-west of Mauritius and investigates the diet of the endemic flying fox Pteropus niger and its potential role as pollinator and seed disperser. The identification of food plants and seed dispersal events were made by direct observations of bats or indirectly by the analysis of ejecta found on the ground. P. niger was observed to visit 22 plant species for food of which 20 were visited for fruit, two for floral resources. and one for foliage (one species was visited for both fruit and floral resources). Two thousand thirty-two P. niger fruit ejecta from 16 species were collected containing 2460 seeds. Ejecta from eight of these species (including five endemic to Mauritius) contained seeds. all of which were mature and intact (with one possible exception) and some were germinating. Forty-seven observations were made of the dispersal of seeds in fruit, 4 ejecta and faeces, including seeds from three endemic and one native plant species. All seeds in dispersed ejecta were found to be mature and undamaged by bats. Pollen smears from the lips of six dead and 12 captured bats showed that these animals carried a minimum of IS pollen species. Each smear had an average of 2.2 pollen species and a pollen load of 17.7 grains. Our results suggest that R niger plays an important role in maintaining plant diversity in the heavily fragmented landscape of Mauritius. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.