Abstract
Santalum album, a medium sized evergreen tree found in dry forest tracts of the Deccan Peninsula, India is vulnerable (IUCN) and red listed species in southern India. The paper discusses the role of avian frugivores in seed dissemination of S.album in Tamil Nadu. Observations from different locations of Western and Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu are presented. The forest type of the study sites comprise of southern dry mixed deciduous forest. Extended watches of 3-hr duration were made on focal trees. During the extended observations, the observer noted the name of the visitor, frequency of fruit-feeding visits by different species, and fruit handling behaviour. A total of 10 species of birds and Three-striped Palm Squirrel foraged fruit crops. Birds constituted the principal seed dispersers of Santalum album. Role of Indian Grey Hornbill in regeneration of S. album was evidenced by the presence of sandalwood seedlings in hornbill’s nest middens. Although bulbuls made frequent foraging visits, they ate the fruits in piecemeal and did not move the seeds away from the parent trees. Among the avian foragers, Asian Koel, Common Myna, Brahminy Starling, Brown-headed Barbet, White-headed Babbler and Indian Grey Hornbill constituted the major seed dispersers of S.album. These birds visited the fruit crops more frequently and swallowed the fruits wholly. Conservation efforts need to focus in providing a healthy habitat for the seed dispersing birds such as koel, as the population of sandalwood tree is dwindling in the wild.
Highlights
Extended watches of 3-hr duration were made for a total of 54-hr in Anaikatty Hills, the Western Ghats and 24-hr in Pachaimalai Hills, the Eastern Ghats
A total of 217 birds belonging to eight species visited Santalum album (Table 1) in Anaikatty Hills, Western Ghats
Highest proportion of feeding visits was contributed by Redwhiskered Bulbul, Pycnonotus jocosus (20.3%) followed by White-headed Babbler (16.7%) and Asian Koel (16.3%)
Summary
Avian frugivory and seed dispersal of Indian Sandalwood Santalum album in Tamil Nadu, India. Santalum album (Santalaceae) is a medium sized evergreen tree found in dry forest tracts of the Deccan Peninsula, where the major sandal growing tracts are located in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The species was introduced to several areas of central and northern India, where it has naturalized and spread. Flower panicles appear during December–April and fruiting occurs throughout the year (Matthew 1991). The fruit is a fleshy purplish-black globose drupe measuring approximately a centimetre in diameter. Viable seeds are produced after five years and dispersed by birds (Asian Regional Workshop 1998).
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