Home Institution
Macalester College
Publication Date
Winter 2017
Abstract
This study examines the impact of Pteropus voeltzkowi , colloquially known as the Pemba Flying Fox, on biodiversity and health of the forest ground layer. Known to serve as reforesters, high concentrations of both fruit seeds and nutrient dense guano are introduced into specific environmental locations due to the bat's behavioral patterns. Working around two roost locations, one in Ngezi Forest and the other at the Kidike conservation site near Mjini Ole, diversity of juvenile vegetation was measured and quantified. In a laboratory setting, soil samples from both sites were analyzed for impacts of guano concentration on soil chemical properties. Results found trends at the Kidike roost site of increased vegetation diversity with roost proximity, while soil analysis indicated a correlation between increased guano concentration and increased soil fertility.
Disciplines
Animal Sciences | Biodiversity | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Environmental Sciences | Forest Biology | Sustainability
Recommended Citation
Davidson, Lea, "Pteropus voeltzkowi and the Understory: A Study of the Behavioral Impacts of the Pemba Flying Fox on the Vegetation and Soil Quality of Pemba Island" (2017). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2616.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2616
Included in
Animal Sciences Commons, Biodiversity Commons, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Forest Biology Commons, Sustainability Commons
Program Name
Tanzania-Zanzibar: Coastal Ecology and Natural Resource Management