Species Diversity And Pollination Ecology Of Bagale Hills Forest Reserve, Girei Local Government Area, Adamawa State - Nigeria

Abstract

Background: This study assessed the pollination ecology and diversity of the Bagale Hills Forest Reserve (BHFR) in Adamawa State. The aim of the study was to understand if biodiversity conservation of the reserve, as planned by the government, is achieved. The objectives were to: assess angiosperm diversity; determine pollinator diversity; evaluate the interaction between angiosperms-pollinators and assess the period of flowering of angiosperms in the transects of the study area. Materials and Methods: The study adopted the systematic line transect procedure in laying out transects. Four transects of 1 km were laid and four sampled plots of 50 m x 50 m size was alternately laid along each of the transect. Three angiosperms were selected at random for data collection on phenology and the diversity of both plants and its associated pollinators. The studied reserve was traversed on foot for three months and the appearance of flower buds and the presence of pollinators on targeted tree species was observed. Data were analyzed and presented using the Descriptive statistics and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index was used for the determination of biodiversity. Results: The result of the Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index indicated pollinator species diversity of 2.686 and angiosperms diversity index of 2.761591 that indicated a very high biodiversity for both the pollinators and its associated plant species in the study area. The phenology result indicated that the pollinators observed were invertebrates that were not evenly distributed and that only about 3.25 % of the tree species were flowering during the wet season. It was also observed that all sampled tree species were generalist in nature. Conclusion: It was concluded that conservation education must be prioritized for the communities surrounding the study area.