Glosophagine bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) as floral visitors of Stenocereus huastecorum (Plantae: Cactaceae) in the Jaumave Valley, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Abstract

The objectives of the present work were to determine the species of bats as floral visitors of Stenocereus huastecorum Alvarado-Sizzo, Arreola-Nava & Terrazas, 2018 in the Jaumave Valley, the night activity patterns of these floral visitors, their abundance within the flowering periods of 2018 and the comparison of effectiveness of nocturnal and diurnal pollinators. During March-May and August-October 2018, 12 nights were sampled per flowering period using three mist nets of 12 x 2.6 meters. Bats captured were identified, samples of pollen were taken from them which was processed by Erdtman's acetolysis. Three different treatments were applied to evaluate pollination effectiveness (nocturnal exclusion, diurnal exclusion, and control), selecting three flowers in 19 individuals. Leptonycteris yerbuenae (Martínez & Villa, 1940), L. nivalis (Saussure, 1860) and Choeronycteris mexicana (Tschudi, 1844) were the nocturnal floral visitors of S. huastecorum during its two flowering periods, the first species being the most frequently recorded throughout the night. Although this species has flowers with chiropterophilous characteristics, no significant differences were found in the effectiveness of diurnal, nocturnal and control pollinators. Very little is known about the nocturnal floral visitors of S. huastecorum and the effectiveness of its pollinators in the north of its distribution. Since this species is very important for the economy of rural communities due to the sale of its fruits, this research provides basic information for the conservation and use of this species.