People utilize plants to meet many everyday needs, including food, fiber, and building materials. However, not many of the over
300,000 known species of plants are used by people. One species with a lot of future promise is the jatropha tree. This species is native to Central America and is now found throughout the tropics. Many people believe the jatropha could help alleviate poverty in many areas of the world, as the seeds produce an oil that can be used for cooking, lighting, or generating electricity. This oil can also be mixed with diesel fuel or petrol to produce a biofuel. Mature trees produce between 5 and 15 kg of seeds per year and can live more than 30 years. Suppose a weather catastrophe occurred such that the bird pollinators of the jatropha tree were significantly diminished. Which form of dispersal might jatropha trees need for a chance to continue producing flowers and seeds?
Assuming that the bird pollinators were significantly diminished, human dispersal will be a useful means of dispersal. Currently, in the tropics, Jatropha is intentionally planted by individuals for oil production.
