RELATIVE POLLINATOR EFFECTIVENESS AND EVOLUTION OF FLORAL TRAITS IN SPATHIPHYLLUM FRIEDRICHSTHALII (ARACEAE)

Abstract

We studied the relative effectiveness of different pollinators of Spathiphyllum friedrichsthalii Schott for 15 months on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Pollen‐foraging stingless bees (Apidae: Trigona) made 87% of floral visits. Experiments showed that these bees pollinate flowers, and correlations of fruit‐ and seed‐set with visitation frequencies and floral contact times suggested that they were responsible for the majority of seeds produced. Fifteen species of fragrance‐foraging, male euglossine bees (Apidae: Euglossini) collectively accounted for a small portion of seed‐set in fewer than 27% of the inflorescences. Neocorynura (Halictidae) were pollen thieves and were unimportant as pollinators.We propose that euglossine and stingless bees differentially influence outcrossing rates and the evolution of floral traits of S. friedrichsthalii. Foraging behavior of male euglossines should allow for more long‐distance pollen flow whereas stingless bees are likely to promote near‐neighbor and geitonogamous pollinations. We discuss why the prolonged male phase of anthesis in this protogynous species may be maintained through pollination by stingless bees rather than male euglossines. Furthermore, although the floral fragrance is attractive to many species of male euglossines, it attracts few individuals. This condition may represent an intermediate step in the evolution of predominant pollination by male euglossines.