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

Plebani, Marco ; Imanizabayo, Olive ; Hansen, Dennis M. ; Armbruster, W. Scott

In: Journal of Tropical Ecology, 2015, vol. 31, no. 1, p. 99-101

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    Titre
    • Pollination ecology and circadian patterns of inflorescence opening of the Madagascan climber Dalechampia aff. bernieri (Euphorbiaceae)
    Auteur
    • Plebani, Marco. Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich
    • Imanizabayo, Olive. Karisoke Research Center, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, 4 Ruhengeri, Rwanda
    • Hansen, Dennis M.. Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich
    • Armbruster, W. Scott. School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, King Henry Building, King Henry I Street, Portsmouth PO1 2DY, UK
    Type de document
    • Postprint
    Langue
    • Inglese
    Publié dans
    • Journal of Tropical Ecology, 2015, vol. 31, no. 1, p. 99-101. Cambridge University Press
    Autre version électronique
    Identifiant OAI-PMH
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:295517
    Summary
    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