Intraspecific variability of nectar attracts different bats: the case of Pseudalcantarea viridiflora, a bromeliad with crepuscular anthesis

Pedro Adrián Aguilar-Rodríguez,Marco Tschapka,Juan Carlos López-Acosta,Thorsten Krömer,M Cristina Macswiney G,José G García-Franco

doi:10.1590/0102-33062020abb0503

Pedro Adrián Aguilar-Rodríguez, Marco Tschapka + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-33062020abb0503

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Abstract

Intraspecific variation in floral traits, such as nectar, could lead to differences in the identity and pollinator effectiveness of visitors between populations of a flowering plant. We studied the bat-pollinated bromeliad species Pseudalcantarea viridiflora to determine whether there are differences in the identity of its pollinators and in its nectar traits between two study sites located at different latitudes in Veracruz, Mexico. We studied phenology and determined the volume, concentration and quantity of dissolved sugars in the nectar at both sites. The northern P. viridiflora population produced nectar that was more sugar-rich, leading to pollination by a larger species, Anoura geoffroyi, whereas the southern populations were visited mainly by Glossophaga mutica, a smaller pollinator. The most abundant nectarivorous bats at each site differ in terms of their efficiency as pollinators, and we suggest that this might affect their contribution to the fitness of the bromeliad.

Highlights

The pollinator species of a given plant can change among sites (Boyd 2004; Lobo et al 2012), as can the efficiency or effectiveness of pollinators
The results show that P. viridiflora is a self-compatible bromeliad capable of self-pollination at both sites, and confirm that the species is pollinated by nectarivorous bats
>60 % of the visits corresponding to bats (Cruz-Neto et al 2015), stigmatic receptivity and the presence of pollen on the anthers were observed during diurnal hours following initiation of anthesis

Summary

Introduction

The pollinator species of a given plant can change among sites (Boyd 2004; Lobo et al 2012), as can the efficiency or effectiveness of pollinators (see King et al 2013 for definitions related to this topic) All of these conditions may exert selective pressures on the phenotypic traits of the plant (Thompson 1994), including flowering phenology (Lobo et al 2003), anthesis duration (Schlumpberger et al 2009; Munguía-Rosas et al 2010), floral morphology and size (Pérez-Barrales et al 2007; Schlumpberger et al 2009; Newman et al 2014; Hattori et al 2015), corolla coloration (Berardi et al 2016), quantity of nectar (Schlumpberger et al 2009; Brown et al 2011; Gijbels et al 2014) and the plant reproductive system (Eckert 2002).

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