Abstract
To assess the feeding habits of the Bonin Flying Fox (Pteropus pselaphon, Layard, 1829) pollen analysis was conducted on the faeces of the animals from Minami-Iwo-To Island and Chichi-jima Island, Ogasawara Archipelago. In total 23 plant species and two fern species were represented by the pollen and spores recovered from the faeces samples collected on the two islands. Notably, pollen of only one species was recovered on Minami-Iwo-To Island: Pandanus sp., while on Chichi-jima Island seven (5.4±1.3) species were identified from the pollen which had passed through the gut of P. pselaphon. The species represented include first records for the flowers of Syzygium sp. and Pandanus sp. as part of the diet of Bonin Flying Foxes. The pollen assemblage in the faeces also suggests that some alien plant species such as Agave americana, Ficus microcarpa and Syzygium jambos are major elements in the diet of the Bonin Flying Fox on Chichi-jima Island. In addition, on both islands, fern spores were found frequently in the faeces of these animals, suggesting that ferns also provide a major food resource (for example, Asplenium setoi), especially on Minami-Iwo-To Island. This paper documents for the first time, that ferns form part of the diet for P. pselaphon, the Bonin flying fox.
