Civet latrines in three habitats of a coffee dominated landscape of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot.

Civets are frugivorous animals in the Order Carnivora. They are relatively less shy towards people and anthropogenic habitats. It has been reported that the civets' preference of defecating in open sites enable them to be important seed dispersers of degraded forests and urban ecosystems of Asia and Africa. We surveyed for scats of palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) in forest fragments of sacred groves (closed), coffee plantations (partly closed) and home gardens (relatively open) during the fruit ripening period of Coffee and Caryota urens - the two preferred fruits of civet - to report the microhabitat characteristics and seed composition of civet latrines. The microhabitat of each scat position - whether on or off the ground and the shade type - was recorded. The scat analysis showed the presence of 4234 seeds belonging to coffee (90.2%), C. urens (9.7%), and an anonymous Rubiacea species (0.10%) in a total of 105 scats collected from coffee plantations (55), home gardens (5), and sacred groves (45). The number of scats sampled from the three habitats was different, but not the number of seeds per scat. Overall, the number of scats increased with the canopy cover, but the trend was different for different habitats. In home garden and coffee plantations, it decreased, but in sacred groves, it increased with the canopy cover. The number of scats sampled above the ground - on tree branches, logs and built-up structures- was more than that was on the ground. The findings contradict the general belief that the civet latrines occur more in open areas than the shaded areas. Because the civet latrines are seen more above ground than on the ground, their efficiency as seed dispersal agent may be examined critically in different contexts.

Ornamental roses for conservation of leafcutter bee pollinators.

Pollinator conservation is a global priority. Efforts are taken to restore pollinators by improving flower resources, a crucial driver of pollinator diversity and population growth. It helped gardening and landscaping supply chains, which introduced lists of bee-friendly plants and bee hotels, yet, desirable results seem distant. One shortcoming of the present schemes is that they lack a cohesive planning for nesting opportunities and nesting provisions for wild solitary bees, the crucial pollinators of crop and wild plants. We tested whether the world's popular ornamental plant, rose (Rosa chinensis Jacq.)-a hitherto unlisted bee-friendly plant-can aid in conserving leafcutter bees, which require fresh leaves for constructing nest cells. We surveyed 2360 rose plants in 136 sites in rural and urban places and lowlands and highlands of south (8°N-12°N) and northeastern India (26°N-27°N) for the characteristic notches the bees leave on foraged leaves. We reared brood constructed with rose and non-rose leaves to examine the brood success rate. About a quarter of all the roses surveyed had the notches of leafcutter bees on the leaves. However, the proportion of cut roses varied considerably among sites. Bees used roses much higher in urban areas and lowlands than in rural areas and highlands. The selection of plants was negatively associated with pesticide application. The brood success rate was 100% for the brood that was constructed by the leaves of rose and non-rose plants. Rose flowers do not support bees, but rose leaves indeed do. We recommend rose plants in leafcutter bee conservation and restoration schemes, particularly in urban environment.