Manilkara rufula
Encyclopedia
Manilkara rufula is a species of tree
in the Sapodilla family
. It is endemic to the northeastern submontane
forests of Bahia
, Sergipe
, Pernambuco
, Paraíba
, Ceará
and Piauí
states of Brazil
. Although this species exists in many places, where it occurs it is either not numerous, or its numbers are declining due to loss of habitat.
and M. maxima
, provide nectar as food for a primate
called the golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas). Both tree and tamarin are only found in those remnants of Atlantic forest remaining in the northeastern region of Brazil. This habitat has long been disappearing through decades of intensive logging
, followed by further disturbance in the converting of logged land to subsistence farming
. What is left of said habitat comprises less than four percent of its original area.
These small habitats, islands of forest called "brejos", are fragments of moist forest caatinga
s, surrounded on every side by either dry forest caatingas, or by cerrado
s, swaths of shrubby vegetation resembling savanna
, where M. rufula cannot grow. Unlike its dryer neighbors, caatinga moist forests occur primarily along inaccessible ridges and on solitary prominences, and are deluged by tropical rains measuring from 1,000 to 1,300 mm annually.
Manilkara rufula, along with some of its tree species associates (Podocarpus sellowii
, Prunus sphaerocarpa, for example) is a remnant of an earlier climatological regime, when the northeast region as a whole was far moister than most of it is today. A prisoner both geographically and genetically, M. rufula is prevented from further spread by the less-than-ideal arid growing conditions all around it.
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
in the Sapodilla family
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae is a family of flowering plants, belonging to order Ericales. The family includes approximately 800 species of evergreen trees and shrubs in approximately 65 genera . Distribution is pantropical....
. It is endemic to the northeastern submontane
Foothills
Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...
forests of Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
, Sergipe
Sergipe
Sergipe , is the smallest state of the Brazilian Federation, located on the northeastern Atlantic coast of the country. It borders on two other states, Bahia to the south and west and Alagoas to the north, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean...
, Pernambuco
Pernambuco
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
, Paraíba
Paraíba
Paraíba Paraíba Paraíba (Tupi: pa'ra a'íba: "bad to navigation"; Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east...
, Ceará
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
and Piauí
Piauí
Piauí is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country.Piauí has the shortest coastline of any of the non-landlocked Brazilian states at 66 km , and the capital, Teresina, is the only state capital in the north east to be located inland...
states of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Although this species exists in many places, where it occurs it is either not numerous, or its numbers are declining due to loss of habitat.
Ecology
Manilkara rufula, along with its speciatic cousins M. longifoliaManilkara longifolia
Manilkara longifolia, commonly known as Masseranduba, is a species of plant in the Sapotaceae family. It is endemic to Brazil, where it is threatened by habitat loss.- External links : from the Economic Botany Collection of Richard Spruce...
and M. maxima
Manilkara maxima
Manilkara maxima is a species of plant in the Sapotaceae family. It is endemic to Brazil, where it is threatened by habitat loss....
, provide nectar as food for a primate
Primate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
called the golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas). Both tree and tamarin are only found in those remnants of Atlantic forest remaining in the northeastern region of Brazil. This habitat has long been disappearing through decades of intensive logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
, followed by further disturbance in the converting of logged land to subsistence farming
Subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their families. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made with an eye...
. What is left of said habitat comprises less than four percent of its original area.
These small habitats, islands of forest called "brejos", are fragments of moist forest caatinga
Caatinga
Caatinga is a type of vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in the northeastern part of Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation"...
s, surrounded on every side by either dry forest caatingas, or by cerrado
Cerrado
The Cerrado, is a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil, particularly in the states of Gioas and Minas Gerais...
s, swaths of shrubby vegetation resembling savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
, where M. rufula cannot grow. Unlike its dryer neighbors, caatinga moist forests occur primarily along inaccessible ridges and on solitary prominences, and are deluged by tropical rains measuring from 1,000 to 1,300 mm annually.
Manilkara rufula, along with some of its tree species associates (Podocarpus sellowii
Podocarpus sellowii
Podocarpus sellowii is a species of conifer in the Podocarpaceae family.It is found only in Brazil.-Source:* Conifer Specialist Group 2000. .* Downloaded on 10 July 2007....
, Prunus sphaerocarpa, for example) is a remnant of an earlier climatological regime, when the northeast region as a whole was far moister than most of it is today. A prisoner both geographically and genetically, M. rufula is prevented from further spread by the less-than-ideal arid growing conditions all around it.