Tue 16 Dec 2008: 9.00 am Keynote Lecture 4
Faculty of Science Lecture Theatre 32
Science Drive 4, NUS

Interactions among hornbills, plants and animals

Pilai Poonswad
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok,
Thailand

Abstract - The worldwide rate of loss of biodiversity in tropical forest
ecosystems is estimated to be in the region of 21,000 species per year.
Without proper management and conservation efforts, the world nay stand to
lose up to 50% of this biodiversity by the end of the century.

Four species of hornbills are found in the monsoon evergreen forests of Khao
Yai National Park (2,168 km2)—Great, Wreathed, White-throated and Oriental
Pied Hornbills. Hornbills interact with a wide diversity of plant and animal
species.

The park is host to at least 389 genera and 661 species of plants in 112
families. Among a total of 229 nest trees studied, 38 species (6% of those
of KYNP), 35 genera (9%) and 20 families (18%) are known to be hornbill nest
trees. The most important of these trees are in the family Dipterocarpaceae,
particularly, Dipterocarpus (38% of total nest trees). Hornbills are
omnivorous, however, fruits dominate their diet comprising 60-95% of the
total diet depending on hornbill species. Ripe fruits of 139 plant species
(21% of those of KYNP), 76 genera (20%) and 36 plant families (32%) are
recorded in the diet of hornbills.

In the annual life cycle of the hornbill, 22 species of fruiting plants are
consumed during the pre-breeding season, 63 species during the breeding
season and 65 species during non-breeding season. The major food plant
families are the Lauraceae, Moraceae, Annonaceae and Meliaceae.

Being frugivorous, hornbills are considered to be significant seed dispersal
agents. But some 70 species of animals from various groups have also been
recorded form their diet, including insects and other arthropods,
amphibians, reptiles, molluscs, crustaceans, fish, mammals and birds.

Biodiversity conservation in a tropical forest in ecosystem requires the
conservation of not only the large seed dispersal agents such as hornbills
but also the large carnivores.


Oral presentations by graduate students
in the Biodiversity theme at LT20
10.00 am - 12.15pm - Session 4
2.45 pm - 4.00pm - Session 5


The 13th Biological Sciences Graduate Congress is organized and hosted by
the graduate students of the Department of Biological Sciences, National
University of Singapore along with the graduate students from the
Chulalongkorn University and the University of Malaya from 15th December to
17th December 2008.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]