Coconut palms bring ecological change to tropics, Stanford researchers say

[Staff]

Coconut palms bring ecological change to tropics, Stanford researchers say
Those graceful coconut palms swaying in tropical breezes are lowering nutrient levels in the soils and the plants around them, thereby altering the eating habits of animals. Researchers say it’s one example of how a change in a plant community can disrupt an entire ecosystem.
by Louis Bergeron
Stanford Report, January 20, 2010

Coconut palms bring ecological change to tropics, Stanford researchers say
excerpt from above:

Coconut palms, the epitome of South Seas tranquility, turn out to be doing more than just soothing vacationers and inspiring aloha shirts. As they continue to spread to new areas, they are also changing the very landscapes they grace, according to Stanford researchers. Seabirds are shunning the palms as nesting sites, favoring other tree species instead, sending a ripple through island ecosystems.

With the birds has gone the rich cargo of guano that they normally dispense so freely to the earth under their abodes. The absence of that precious input has caused the soil around the palms to become nutritionally deficient.

That, in turn, is lowering the nutritional content of plant species growing around the palms and is causing the creatures that feed on those plants, such as crabs and grasshoppers, to forage elsewhere...