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Nepenthes Rajah Case Study

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Background
Nepenthes rajah is a type of carnivorous pitcher plant found predominantly in the hot and nutrient-deficient soils of the Southeast Asian tropics. Since the soil is nutrient-deficient, N. rajah captures arthropods that falls into its jug-shaped leaf organ as a source of N and P to grow; similarly to other pitcher plants. However, unlike other pitcher plants, N. rajah also strangely interacts mutually with two small mountain mammals: Tupaia Montana and Rattus baluensis. This is different from other Nepenthes species as they only interact with T. montana. These two mammals feed on the sweet nectar that N. rajah produces and in return, persistently defecates inside the pitcher. N. rajah benefits because it consumes the nutrient-rich fecal matter for an additional source of N. This unique mutualistic relationship between a carnivorous plant and multiple small mammals was investigated Greenwood et al (2011). The study invested the strength of mutualism between N. rajah and the two mammals via scat deposition rates. Alongside with that, the visiting behavior of the two mammals and N. rajah was documented to show possible competition or avoidance between the mammals, and the similarities and differences between said two mammals. …show more content…

rajah and the two mammals in terms of scat deposition rates. Both mammals had a similar frequency of scat deposits despite the higher visitation rate of T. montana compared to R. baluensis. The researchers concluded this was due to R. baluensis having a higher degree of accuracy in depositing the scat inside in pitcher, whereas T. montana had a significantly lower accuracy rate and defecated outside the pitcher. Regardless of the lower accuracy in T. montana, N. rajah still receives a total N level from feces that may range higher than 57%- results found in a study containing a Nepenthes species and T. montana, because N. rajah is involved with two

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