Therefore, a unique ecosystem in Mauritius is in the danger zone

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen investigated the effects more closely and their findings are published in Nature Communications Journal.

Seed scattering disappears

The entry of Europeans into Mauritius at the beginning of the seventeenth century left deep traces, which today threaten the fragile ecosystem on the island.

Just over a third of Mauritius’s original fruit is no longer abundant on the island, as there are almost no native animals left large enough to devour its seeds and disperse them.

Animals such as the drone and giant tortoise were once among the species that could spread the seeds of fruit trees, but they are now extinct.

The remaining original species are only half their size and therefore too small to sprout larger seeds.

Specifically, the researchers studied how the relationship between Mauritian plants and species of fruit-eating animals changed over time.

Although the number of animal-eating species has indeed increased over the past 400 years, due to introduced species, their ability to disperse seeds has greatly declined. This means that the plants of Mauritius are among the most threatened plants in the world.

This means that approximately 28 percent of the fruit native to the island and about seven percent of the seeds are large enough to fit in the mouths of animals left over from eating the fruit.

Although species such as warthogs and macaques have been introduced to the island to restore ecological balance, they are still too small for larger seeds and therefore find it difficult to take on the role of seed dispersers.

New species have a negative impact

At the same time, these species have been shown to destroy the seeds while eating them, leaving them not whole enough to spread.

While macaques have been shown to destroy all the seeds they eat, pigs destroy approximately 86 percent of the seeds they eat, and mice, which involuntarily accompanied the colonists in their day, destroy about 65 percent of the seeds.

According to the research article, it is estimated that only 4.4 percent of the island’s original habitats still exist, so many plants are in danger of disappearing forever. Currently, 57 percent of the tree species on the island are at risk of extinction.

Researchers believe that more than half of all plant species depend on the help of different animal species to spread their seeds.

Now they are thinking of bringing Aldabra tortoises, which are also called giant tortoises, from the Seychelles to Mauritius to replace the extinct species and American scientists will revive the drone and return it to the island.

However, the researchers point out that the actions should instead be aimed at protecting the flying dog. The bat is the last species that can spread larger seeds across the island.

Together with the Mauritian bulbul, the flying dog is responsible for 90 percent of the island’s plant seed dispersal. However, both species are threatened by hunting and habitat destruction.