Aaditya
Pollination
is one major biodiversity ministrations for the maintenance of ecosystems.
Animal pollinators play an essential role in the reproduction of many flowering
plants. Anthropogenic roles that have resulted threats to pollination and
pollinators were identified as habitat fragmentation loss, deforestation,
desertification, industrial and infrastructural development. These eventually
impinge on the unique ecological and economic services that pollination renders
to sustain life on planet earth. There
are lots of faunal pollinators which serve to aid floral diversity particularly
in urban areas. Among them, some avian species play sound role in the process. Leptocoma zeylonica (Purple-rumped
sunbird) a common small avian species is endemic to the Indian subcontinent.
They help in pollinating the flowers of many plant species such as Woodfordia, Sterculia, Calliandra and Hamelia. Keeping this in view, an
attempt has been made to study the avian pollinators of common medicinal vine Mucuna pruriens (Velvet bean) locally
known as Baidanka.
This vine has ample medicinal properties. The extracts have
been long used in tribal communities as an antidote against Naja, Echis and Bangarus species. It contains L-DOPA, a
precursor to the neurotransmitter dopamine and used to treat Parkinson’s
disease. The study reveals that L.
zeylonica plays a vital role in pollination of this vine. The presence of
this vine also regulates the existence of L.
zeylonica in urban areas. The
frequencies of perching have been recorded. The findings suggest that the
conservation of this valuable plant is dependent upon the conservation of L. zeylonica to make the environment
eco-friendly. The decline of the L.
zeylonica is gradually leading to decline in the distribution of M. pruriens, particularly in urban areas
and vice versa. Present works highlight the importance of faunal pollinators to
conserve the urban floral diversity.
No comments:
Post a Comment