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Ficus fistulosa, Ulu Ulu Resort, Brunei

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A bat  survey by Kofron (2002) found that all the small Cynopterus fruit bats he caught at Kuala Belalong were Cynopterus minutus not the larger Cynopterus brachyotis  which was only found  in secondary forest and orchards at Batang Duri.

Ficus fistulosa, a small tree growing at the Ulu Ulu Resort, Temburong, Brunei. All photos in this article are of the same tree which is located between the steps that climb the hill behind the resort and the hostel building. Note the black ant on one of the figs. Ants are particularly common on male fig trees as they eat both the pollinating wasps and the parasitic insects that attack the fig fruit.
Ficus fistulosa, Ulu Ulu Resort. The fact that most of the fig fruits on this individual tree rot after ripening indicates that this is a male tree in which the fig fruits only produce pollinating wasps. Only female trees produce seeds with the dioecious fig species.
Small  fruit bats Forest Short-nosed Fruit Bat Cynopterus minutus  are very common at Ulu Ulu. They use the rafters of the covered walkways both for  roosting during the day and for feeding perches at night. In the early morning you can find dark patches on the walkways where they have dropped fruit parts and fibre wads of the figs they have been feeding on. These fruits bats feed on female Ficus fistulosa figs only (not males)  and are very important dispersers of fig seeds.

Ficus fistulosa, Ulu Ulu Resort. Note that the margins of the young leaves are dentate (toothed) or serrate whilst with the older leaves, the “teeth” are less noticeable.

Ficus fistulosa, Ulu Ulu Resort. Note that the edges of the older leaves are almost without “teeth” i.e. “entire” in botanical terms.
The Ulu Ulu Resort on the eastern bank of the Temburong River in Temburong Brunei. The Ulu Ulu resort is just outside the boundary of the Ulu Temburong National Park which encompasses the entire watershed of the Temburong river.

 

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