HE sea coconut (Lodoicea maldivica) is an extraordinary palm tree. For many things; especially because It produces the world’s largest seed: its weight can exceed 20 kilos. The tree also has gigantic dimensions in the universe of palm trees: can exceed 30 meters in height. It has enormous costapalmeat leaves and The shape of the seed resembles a human ass.
Further: They take more than 40 years to reach maturity, their fruits take 7 years to mature, then 6 months to break down and 2 years to germinate.. All this makes it extremely difficult to find specimens of this species outside its natural habitat. and let it happen classified as endangered It is on the ‘Red List’ of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
An international scientific team studied this species in depth and came to the following conclusion: surprising results. Contrary to what conservationists claim, among others, perhaps inbreeding is not so decisive for some threatened speciesespecially for those found naturally in small or isolated populations.
Inbreeding is definitely not a problem for coco de mer. On the contrary: as experts say ‘overbreeding depression‘: Mating between unrelated individuals leads to reduced fitness. And when ‘closely related’ trees mate, the opposite happens.
This kind It was discovered in 1563By Portuguese Jewish doctor García de Orta. The most curious thing was that the doctor found mer seeds in coconuts on the Maldives islands and that is why he gave the tree its name.maldivian coconut‘, but the type originally from SeychellesIt is located more than 2,000 kilometers away.
Popular collector’s item
How is it possible for those seeds to reach the Maldives from so far away? Everything indicates that some coconuts fell from coconut trees in Seychelles at that time and fell into the sea. And after months of ‘singlaldura’, they sailed towards the Maldives, carried by the currents of the Indian Ocean. This was possible because those coconuts germination processn, the only time they swim in water.
Maldivian traders exported these huge nuts to India for centuries for their purported medicinal value: there was a belief that they could cure various diseases. The seed has no known pharmacological properties.and said it was an aphrodisiac.
Currently the export of sea coconuts is controlled. It is found in the wild only on the islands of Praslin and Ciurieuse in the Seychelles, where only 8,200 individuals live. The seed is a coveted collector’s item and The biggest threat to the species is poaching for black market demand..
The latest surprise about coconut de mer was revealed by the research of a group of scientists from Switzerland, England and Seychelles. Because Inbreeding, unlike many endangered species in the plant and animal kingdoms, does not appear to be among the greatest threats..
“While our findings were unexpected, perhaps they should not be surprising,” said study co-author Chris Kettle. “The results are not only important for the conservation of this iconic tree, but may also be important for the conservation and restoration of endangered trees elsewhere,” he adds.
short distance mating
Female coconut trees have no problem finding plenty of mates (and therefore genetic diversity) to choose from. Several host trees pollinate them. Researchers discovered that Survival of Lodoicea offspring increases when parent trees are more closely relatedS.
The findings of these researchers show that female cocos de mer prefer ‘close relatives’ to father their offspring. Short-distance mating between related individuals is the norm. What’s more, scientific evidence shows that coconut de mer can cause bitterness overbreeding depressionIt is the less common opposite of inbreeding depression, which has the same detrimental consequences for the offspring.
“This study highlights the importance of understanding: The reproductive ecology of species as a dogma should not always be applied“, underlines Kettle, who, along with other writers, considers this “essential” protect palm knot habitatstogether endemic geckoA reptile that is the most important pollinator species, according to unpublished research by the Seychelles Islands Foundation.
According to the study’s authors, the absence of inbreeding depression in cocos de mer may be due to several factors related to the evolution of the species in the island’s isolation. Researchers detail several, including: “Very rare” long-distance pollination events of perennial trees may be sufficient to preserve genetic diversity.
They recommend intensifying efforts manual pollination offering seeds to a wide range of pollen donors, including those near parent trees plantation They should focus on placing fertilized seeds near the mothers.
“As a result, we recommend that: Conservationists need to take a more nuanced view of inbreeding and its importance to threatened populationsQ. Even though it represents something serious threat to many plant speciesThe authors conclude that “particularly those previously found in large, unfragmented populations may be less critical for species prone to limited gene flow, as shown here for Lodoicea.”
Reference work: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-41419-4
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