Daily visitation patterns and consumption of fleshly fruits of invasive alien plants by wild southern African ungulates

International audience

anglais. Endozoochorous seed dispersal by ungulates has received increased attention. However, ungulates' daily visitation patterns and fruit consumption of the fleshly fruits of invasive alien plants (IAPs) are poorly documented. Using camera trapping, we documented wild southern African ungulates interactions with three freshly-fruited IAPs, i.e. lantana (Lantana camara), bugweed (Solanum mauritianum) and cochineal prickly-pear (Opuntia monacantha) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We determined the community of potential ungulate seed dispersers of the IAPs, the daily IAP interaction patterns and quantified relative fruit consumption by ungulates. The level of IAP fruit consumption was significantly different among ungulate species and IAPs and varied with time of day. Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa), bushbuck (Tragelaphus sylvaticus), impala (Aepyceros melampus), nyala (T. angasii) and greater kudu (T. strepsiceros) showed the highest relative fruit consumption rate, respectively, while the lowest was for blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), and zebra (Equus quagga). Impala and greater kudu were recorded interacting with the IAPs from 24h00-06h00, giraffe and nyala from 06h00-12h00, and bushbuck from 18h00-06h00. Overall, L. camara was visited mostly during the diurnal-afternoon; however, O. monacantha during the nocturnal-morning and S. mauritianum during the nocturnalnight. The main ungulates potentially dispersing L. camara were giraffe and bushbuck. Impala and greater kudu were the main potential dispersal vectors for O. monacantha. Our study showed that camera trapping is useful for determining the interactions between ungulates and IAPs, which is crucial for understanding their potential contribution to the dispersal dynamics of IAPs in African savannas.