BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Pollination is a critical stage in plant reproduction and thus in the maintenance and evolution of species and communities. The Caatinga is the fourth largest ecosystem in Brazil, but despite its great extent and its importance few studies providing ecological information are available, with a notable lack of work focusing on pollination biology. Here, general data are presented regarding the frequency of pollination systems within Caatinga communities, with the aim of characterizing patterns related to floral attributes in order to make possible comparisons with data for plant communities in other tropical areas, and to test ideas about the utility of syndromes. This paper also intends to provide a reference point for further studies on pollination ecology in this threatened ecosystem. METHODS: The floral traits and the pollination systems of 147 species were analysed in three areas of Caatinga vegetation in northeastern Brazil, and compared with world-wide studies focusing on the same subject. For each species, floral attributes were recorded as form, size, colour, rewards and pollination units. The species were grouped into 12 guilds according to the main pollinator vector. Analyses of the frequencies of the floral traits and pollination systems were undertaken. KEY RESULTS: Nectar and pollen were the most common floral resources and insect pollination was the most frequent, occurring in 69.9 % of the studied species. Of the entomophilous species, 61.7 % were considered to be melittophilous (43.1 % of the total). Vertebrate pollination occurred in 28.1 % of the species (ornithophily in 15.0 % and chiropterophily in 13.1 %), and anemophily was recorded in only 2.0 %. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that the pollination systems in Caatinga, despite climatic restrictions, are diversified, with a low percentage of generalist flowers, and similar to other tropical dry and wet forest communities, including those with high rainfall levels.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Pollination is a critical stage in plant reproduction and thus in the maintenance and evolution of species and communities. The Caatinga is the fourth largest ecosystem in Brazil, but despite its great extent and its importance few studies providing ecological information are available, with a notable lack of work focusing on pollination biology. Here, general data are presented regarding the frequency of pollination systems within Caatinga communities, with the aim of characterizing patterns related to floral attributes in order to make possible comparisons with data for plant communities in other tropical areas, and to test ideas about the utility of syndromes. This paper also intends to provide a reference point for further studies on pollination ecology in this threatened ecosystem. METHODS: The floral traits and the pollination systems of 147 species were analysed in three areas of Caatinga vegetation in northeastern Brazil, and compared with world-wide studies focusing on the same subject. For each species, floral attributes were recorded as form, size, colour, rewards and pollination units. The species were grouped into 12 guilds according to the main pollinator vector. Analyses of the frequencies of the floral traits and pollination systems were undertaken. KEY RESULTS: Nectar and pollen were the most common floral resources and insect pollination was the most frequent, occurring in 69.9 % of the studied species. Of the entomophilous species, 61.7 % were considered to be melittophilous (43.1 % of the total). Vertebrate pollination occurred in 28.1 % of the species (ornithophily in 15.0 % and chiropterophily in 13.1 %), and anemophily was recorded in only 2.0 %. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that the pollination systems in Caatinga, despite climatic restrictions, are diversified, with a low percentage of generalist flowers, and similar to other tropical dry and wet forest communities, including those with high rainfall levels.
Authors: K Momose; T Yumoto; T Nagamitsu; M Kato; H Nagamasu; S Sakai; R Harrison; T Itioka; A Hamid; T Inoue Journal: Am J Bot Date: 1998-10 Impact factor: 3.844
Authors: Camila Maia-Silva; Michael Hrncir; Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca; Dirk Louis P Schorkopf Journal: J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol Date: 2016-06-01 Impact factor: 1.836
Authors: Ulysses Paulino de Albuquerque; Elcida de Lima Araújo; Ana Carla Asfora El-Deir; André Luiz Alves de Lima; Antonio Souto; Bruna Martins Bezerra; Elba Maria Nogueira Ferraz; Eliza Maria Xavier Freire; Everardo Valadares de Sá Barreto Sampaio; Flor Maria Guedes Las-Casas; Geraldo Jorge Barbosa de Moura; Glauco Alves Pereira; Joabe Gomes de Melo; Marcelo Alves Ramos; Maria Jesus Nogueira Rodal; Nicola Schiel; Rachel Maria de Lyra-Neves; Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves; Severino Mendes de Azevedo-Júnior; Wallace Rodrigues Telino Júnior; William Severi Journal: ScientificWorldJournal Date: 2012-08-01