Abstract
ABSTRACT We compared the reproductive phenology and floral visitors of Eschweilera tetrapetala growing along the edge and in the interior of a submontane forest in the Chapada Diamantina mountains, Bahia State, Brazil. We sought to determine if there were inter-annual differences in intensity and seasonality associated with environmental conditions, and if there were differences in floral visitors between the two environmental contexts. Phenological observations were performed for three years, and included the occurrence of an El Nino event. We applied circular statistics to detect seasonal trends, performed cross correlations between phenophases and climate, Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests for inter-annual variation, and the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test for edge-interior differences in the species richness of floral visitors. We observed inter-annual variations in the intensity and seasonality of flower production that accompanied variations in rainfall, possibly associated with El Nino events. Floral visitor richness differed between the forest edge and interior, with seven species recorded for the interior and only one for the edge. Reduced fruit set was also observed at the forest edge. This study contributes to our understanding of the influence of El Nino and edge effects on the reproductive phenologies of tropical plants.
Highlights
Climate change, fragmentation, and loss of natural areas are among the principal global threats to biodiversity (Klapwijk & Lewis 2008)
We investigated whether there were shifts in the reproductive phenology of E. tetrapetala associated with seasonality and the edge-interior contexts in a seasonal submontane forest in the Chapada Diamantina Mountains in northeastern Brazil
We sought to verify if there were variations in the species richness of floral visitors to E. tetrapetala between the two environmental contexts
Summary
Fragmentation, and loss of natural areas are among the principal global threats to biodiversity (Klapwijk & Lewis 2008). There is indisputable evidence that edge effects resulting from forest fragmentation can modify the richness and abundance of tropical arboreal species (e.g., Oliveira et al 2004; Pires et al 2014; CoutoSantos et al 2015). The phenology and reproductive success of plant species occurring near forest edges can be strongly affected by their different environmental conditions Reductions in the availability of abiotic resources such as water and soil nutrients in edge environments, for example, can limit the fruiting rates of the plants there as compared to those growing in the forest interior (Dunley et al 2009; Athayde & Morellato 2014).
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