Sacoglottis gabonensis– a keystone fruit for forest elephants in the Réserve de Faune du Petit Loango, Gabon

Abstract

AbstractThis study suggests that the fruits of Sacoglottis gabonensis (Baill.) Urb. (Humiriaceae) are a keystone resource for forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis Matschie) in a coastal rain forest, the Réserve de Faune du Petit Loango, Gabon (now part of Loango National Park). Faecal counts demonstrated that forest elephants used Sacoglottis‐dominated forest more when Sacoglottis was abundant and electivity indices suggest that Sacoglottis is a preferred food. The flora of Petit Loango is characterized by the absence of herbaceous vegetation such as Marantaceae and Zingiberaceae, and during the prolonged dry season few fleshy fruits are present other than Sacoglottis fruits, which are produced in a glut during this time. While inter‐annual fruiting reliability remains to be confirmed, fruit production in 1998 and high stem density relative to other study sites provide indirect evidence that Sacoglottis fruits are a reliable inter‐annual resource at Petit Loango. It is thus proposed that Sacoglottis gabonensis fruits fulfil an important role as a keystone ‘fallback’ resource for forest elephants during the dry season at Petit Loango.