Estratégias de dispersão, produção de frutos e extrativismo da palmeira Astrocaryum jauari Mart. nos igapós do Rio Negro: implicações para a ictiofauna

Astrocaryum jauari is the most frequent palmin the floodplains (igapó) of the Rio Negro, in Brazilian Amazonia. It grows to 20 m of height and is rarely found isolated. More commonly, 4-6 individuals of different sizes stand together which originate from the same rhizome. Fruit abscission occurs at highest water levels and dispersal occurs by fish. The palm has commercial value: until 1998, for 20 years 'palmito' was the basis of the industrial production in Central Amazonia. In the present study, seasonal dynamics and biomass of fruit production in A. jauari are described in relation to water level and annual flood duration. Systematic studies were performed at the Ecological Station of the Anavilhanas Archipelago, with an inventory area covering 5.000 m2. Fruit production was monitored at weekly intervals and biomass was determined. Data on the dispersing fishes was obtained by collection in the field and by interviews of local people. A. jauari occurs from the higher levels to the lowest in the flooding gradient, being waterlogged up to 270-340 days/year. 125 individuals of A. jauari occorred in the sampled 5.000 m2, which is equivalent to a density of 250 ind/ha in the Anavilhanas. Only adult trees which were directly exposed to light produced fruits. 16 species of fish feed on the fruits of A. jauari. Ten of these act as possible dispersers, 3 as predators. The high contents of vitamine A may be attractive for the fishes. Since the fruits do not have structures enhancing floatation, hydrochoric dispersal does not occur and the seeds succumb to the hypoxic conditions under water. In habitats with short periods of flooding, the fruits may be accumulated near the adult plant (barochory). Other trees occurring in the habitats colonized by A. jauari have hydrochoric and ichthyochoric dispersal syndromes and show high flooding tolerance. In the main area of extractivism of the past, in the Município Barcelos, the density of the species varied between the islands, and had densities between 250 and 2.000 ind/ha. Here, one worker could fell up to 90 palms at high water (May, June) and up to 25 in the low water period (december, january). For each tree, 0.5 to 1 bin of processed bin of "palmito" is produced. Assuming a mean number of ten workers in the area, 900 to 250 palms are exploited per day, corresponding to 1-0.5 ha destroyed forest. If we consid the densities of the palm and its productivity as calculated for the Anavilhanas islands (whcih was 165 kg), extractivism without replacement of new palm trees implies a fast extinction and exclusion of this ressource for the ichthyofauna of the archipelago with all consequences for the local peopl