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Pollination ecology and circadian patterns of inflorescence opening of the Madagascan climber Dalechampia aff. bernieri (Euphorbiaceae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 December 2014

Marco Plebani ,
Olive Imanizabayo ,
Dennis M. Hansen  and
W. Scott Armbruster
Marco Plebani*
Affiliation:
Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057Zurich
Olive Imanizabayo
Affiliation:
Karisoke Research Center, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, 4 Ruhengeri, Rwanda
Dennis M. Hansen
Affiliation:
Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057Zurich
W. Scott Armbruster
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, King Henry Building, King Henry I Street, Portsmouth PO1 2DY, UK Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA Department of Biology, NTNU, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway Department of Botany, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
*
1Corresponding author. Email: marcoplebani85@gmail.com
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Abstract:

Floral morphology often directly influences interactions with pollinators, but less is known about the role of extrafloral structures. We studied the relationship between bract motility, floral structural specialization and pollination in Dalechampia aff. bernieri, an endemic Madagascan species with floral structures indicating specialized buzz-pollination. We measured circadian bract angles in 47 inflorescences from 11 plants of D. aff. bernieri; in addition, we recorded any flower-visiting insects observed. The inflorescences had motile bracts with mean angles varying from ~50° at 00h00 to ~90° at 10h45. They were visited by buzz-pollinating Nomia viridilimbata bees (Halictidae), but also by non-buzz-pollinating Liotrigona bees (Apidae). The temporal pattern of bract motility observed in D. aff. bernieri may represent an extra-floral specialization to reduce visitation by non-pollinating visitors while maximizing visitation by diurnal buzz-pollinating bees.

Keywords

bract motilitybuzz-pollinationDalechampiaDalechampia subternatafloral specializationLiotrigonaMadagascarNomia viridilimbatapollination
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , January 2015 , pp. 99 - 101
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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