New Evidence for Flower Predation on Three Parasitic Rafflesia Species From Java

摘要

Rafflesia (Rafflesiaceae) is a genus of parasitic plants that is endemic to Southeast Asia. Many species in this genus are of high conservation concern in many countries due to their rare and threatened status. However, the ecology of Rafflesia species is not yet fully understood, particularly in terms of flower predation. Here, we present new observations of predation on a Rafflesia patma flower bud using a camera-trap study, together with the results of a survey of flower damage in the three Rafflesia species that occur on Java, Indonesia. We found that two small mammals predated a flower bud of R. patma in Pangandaran (West Java, Indonesia), one of which has not previously been identified as a predator of Rafflesia flowers. We also detected wasp infection in Rafflesia rochussenii and predation by another animal on Rafflesia zollingeriana. Overall, flower bud predation by animals damaged up to 10.65% of the surveyed flowers.