Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T03:11:53.718Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Predispersal seed predation on three Vachellia species and one Senegalia species (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in the Rift Valley of Ethiopia and Menagesha forest, Ethiopia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2016

Abraham Yirgu*
Affiliation:
Central Ethiopia Environment and Forestry Research Centre, PO Box 30708, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Get access

Abstract

This study on predispersal seed predation of the leguminous species Vachellia abyssinica (Hochst. Ex. Benth.) Kyal & Boatwr., Senegalia senegal (L.) Britton, Vachellia seyal (Del.) P.J.H. Hurter, and Vachellia tortilis (Forssk.) Galasso & Banfi was conducted around Lake Langano and Menagesha Forest in Ethiopia to identify the associated seed predators and determine their impact on seed germination. Eight seed beetles Bruchidius albosparsus (Fåhraeus, 1839), B. aurivillii (Blanc, 1889), B. djemensis Decelle 1971, B. discoidalis (Fåhraeus, 1839), B. sinaitus (K. Daniel, 1907), B. silaceus (Fåhraeus, 1839), B. sp 411, B. simulans (Anton and Delobel, 2003), and one unidentified species of Cerambycidae were found associated with seeds of these Acacia species. These predators damaged less than 9% of seeds of these species, which exhibited lower germination. This study provides unrecorded lists of predispersal seed predators associated with seeds of Vachellia and Senegalia species in Ethiopia, and some associations are new. There is need to assess the distribution, abundance and effects of predispersal seed predators on other Vachellia, as well as other tree species.

Type
Research Paper
Copyright
Copyright © icipe 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anton, K.-W. and Delobel, A. (2003) African species of the Bruchidius centromaculatus group with ‘eyed’ female pygidium (Coleoptera: Bruchidae: Bruchinae). Genus 14, 159190.Google Scholar
Bekele-Tesemma, A. (2007) Useful Trees and Shrubs of Ethiopia: Identification, Propagation and Management for 17 Agroclimatic Zones (edited by Tengnas, B., Kelbessa, E., Demissew, S. and Maundu, P.). World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi Kenya. 559 pp.Google Scholar
Belay, Z., Vestber, M. and Assefa, F. (2013) Diversity and abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with acacia trees from different land use systems in Ethiopia. African Journal of Microbiology Research 7, 55035515. doi:10.5897/AJMR2013.6115.Google Scholar
Brier, H. (2007) Pulses-summer (including peanuts), pp. 169257. In Pests of Field Crops and Pastures: Identification and Control (edited by Bailey, P. T.). CSIRO Publishing, Victoria.Google Scholar
Delobel, A., Anton, K.W., Le Ru, B. and Kergoat, G. J. (2013) Morphology, biology and phylogeny of African seed beetles belonging to the Bruchidius ituriensis species group (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae). Genus 24, 3963.Google Scholar
Demissew, S. (1988) The floristic composition of the Menagesha state forest and the need to conserve such forests in Ethiopia. Mountain Research and Development 8, 243247.Google Scholar
Derbel, S., Noumi, Z., Anton, K.W. and Chaieb, M. (2007) Life cycle of the coleopter Bruchidius raddianae and the seed predation of the Acacia tortilis subsp. raddiana in Tunisia. Comptes Rendus Biologies 330, 4954. doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2006.09.00.3.Google Scholar
Dharani, N. (2006) Field Guide to Acacias of East Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa. 200 pp.Google Scholar
Ernst, W. H. O., Tolsma, D. J. and Decelle, J. E. (1989) Predation of seeds of Acacia tortilis by insects. OIKOS 54, 294300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, C. W., Wallin, W. G., Bush, M. L., Czesak, M. E. and Messina, F. J. (2012) Effects of seed beetles on the performance of desert legumes depend on host species, plant stage, and beetle density. Journal of Arid Environments 80, 1016. doi:10.1016/j. jaridenv2011.12.008.Google Scholar
Friis, I., Demissew, S. and van Breugel, P. (2011) Atlas of the Potential Vegetation of Ethiopia. Addis Ababa University Press and Shama Books, Ethiopia. 307 pp.Google Scholar
Hedberg, I. and Edwards, S. (eds) (1989) Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea, Vol. 3: Pittosporaceae to Araliaceae. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa and the Department of Systematic Botany, Uppsala, Sweden. 732 pp.Google Scholar
IBC [Institute of Biodiversity Conservation] (2005) National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Addis Ababa. https://www.cbd.int/doc/world/et/et-nbsap-01-en.pdf Google Scholar
Janzen, D. H. (1980) Specificity of seed-attacking beetles in a Costa Rican deciduous forest. Journal of Ecology 68, 929952.Google Scholar
Jaskani, M. J. J., Kwon, S. W., Kim, D. H. and Abbas, H. (2006) Seed treatments and orientation affects germination and seedling emergence in tetraploid watermelon. Pakistan Journal of Botany 38, 8998.Google Scholar
Kyalangalilwa, B., Boatwright, J. S., Daru, B. H., Maurin, O. and van der Bank, M. (2013) Phylogenetic position and revised classification of Acacia s.l. (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) in Africa, including new combinations in Vachellia and Senegalia . Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 172, 500523. doi: 10.1111/boj.12047.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lemenih, M. and Kassa, H. (eds) (2011) Opportunities and Challenges for Sustainable Production and Marketing of Gums and Resins in Ethiopia. CIFOR, Bogor, Indonesia. 106 pp.Google Scholar
Marshall, A. R., Platts, P. J., Gereau, R. E., Kindeketa, W., Kang'ethe, S. and Marchant, R. (2012) The genus Acacia (Fabaceae) in East Africa: distribution, diversity and the protected area network. Plant Ecology and Evolution 145, 289301. http://dx.doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.2012.597.Google Scholar
Miller, M. F. (1994) The fate of mature African Acacia pods and seeds during their passage to soils. Journal of Tropical Ecology 10, 183196. doi:10.1017/S0266467400007835.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, M. F. (1996) Acacia seed predation by bruchids in an African savanna ecosystem. Journal of Applied Ecology 33, 11371144.Google Scholar
Omondi, W., Maua, J. O. and Gachathi, F. N. (eds) (2004) Tree Seed Handbook of Kenya. 2nd edn. Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.Google Scholar
Or, K. and Ward, D. (2003) Three-way interactions between Acacia, large mammalian herbivores and bruchid beetles – a review. African Journal of Ecology 41, 257265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ribeiro-Costa, C. S. and Almeida, L. M. (2012) Seed-chewing beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Bruchinae). In Insect Bioecology and Nutrition for Integrated Pest Management (edited by Panizzi, A. R. and Parra, R. P.). CRC Press, Florida, USA.Google Scholar
Rodrigues, L. M. S., Viana, J. H., Ribeiro-Costa, C. S. and Rossi, M. N. (2012) The extent of seed predation by bruchine beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) in a heterogeneous landscape in southeastern Brazil. The Coleopterists Bulletin 66, 271279. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1649/072.066.0315 Google Scholar
Southgate, B. J. (1978) Variation in the susceptibility of African Acacia (Leguminosae) to seed beetle attack. Kew Bulletin 32, 541544.Google Scholar
Vivero, J. L., Kelbessa, E. and Demissew, S. (2005) The Red List of Endemic Trees & Shrubs of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Fauna and Flora International, Cambridge, UK. 23 pp.Google Scholar