Seed germination and seedling performance are aff ected by environmental factors and seed traits. In this study we investigated the eff ects of seed size and light intensity on germinability and seedling development of Copaifera oblongifolia. A total of 225 seeds were individually weighed and sown in three germination trays composed of 75 cells each. Each tray was placed in a diff erent germination chamber with controlled photoperiod, temperature and light intensity. Seed size showed a positive relationship with time required for seed germination, and seeds exposed to high light intensity required more time to germinate. Seed size did not aff ect germination percentage, but seeds sown under high light intensity had a lower germination percentage than seeds sown under low light intensity and darkness. Seedling shoot mass showed a positive relationship with seeds mass, and seedlings grown in high light intensity had greater shoot mass than seedling growth in low light intensity and darkness. Th us, seed germinability of C. oblongifolia was higher in darkness while seedlings exhibited greater development under light. Looking to explain the ability of C. oblongifolia to colonize open/disturbed sites, it seems possible that plowing soil can bury seeds, thereby stimulating the germination of seeds present in the seed bank.

Copaifera oblongifolia is a recurrent plant species in degraded areas yet there is little information about its seed biology and interactions with fungi. The aims of this study were to identify the fungal community (endophytic and nonendophytic) associated with C. oblongifolia seeds and to test the effects of these different fungal species on germination. In general, germination of C. oblongifolia seeds was high (about 85 %), initiating four days after sowing and continuing for a total of 20 days. External asepsis with sodium hypochlorite did not influence germinability of C. oblongifolia. Seed infestation with Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, Mucor sp. and Rhizopus stolonifer did not affect the time required for germination, however, infection with A. flavus negatively affected germination percentage. Endophytic fungi were not isolated from C. oblongifolia seeds, suggesting that this species does not transmit endophytic fungi vertically. Therefore, C. oblongifolia can be classified in Class 3 with regard to the transmission and presence of endophytes.

Abstract. Fagundes M, Santos EML, Duarte KLR, Santos LM, Vieira JS, Oliveira CHD, Silva PS. 2020. Diversity of gall-inducing insect associated with a superhost plant species: Plant architecture, resource availability and interspecific interactions. Biodiversitas 21: 1182-1189. The role of interspecific competition in the organization of herbivorous insect communities may vary depending on resource availability. Trees are structurally more complex and have greater resource availability for herbivorous insects than shrubs. In this study, we evaluated the roles of plant architecture and interspecific interactions on community organization of the gall-inducing insect associated with trees (adult plants) and shrubs (young plants) of Copaifera langsdorffii. Our results showed that the species composition of gall-inducing insect communities associated with C. langsdorffii differed statistically between trees and shrubs. In addition, the trees presented greater diversity of gall-inducing insects than the shrubs, corroborating the hypothesis of plant architecture. The results of the analysis of null models showed that the co-occurrence of gall-inducing insect species associated with trees not differ from the co-occurrence predicted by chance. Thus, interspecific interactions cannot be used to explain the community organization of the gall-inducing insects on C. langsdorffii trees. On the other hand, the co-occurrence of gall-inducing insect species differed from the co-occurrence predicted by chance when shrubs plants were analyzed, indicating that biotic interactions can shape the structure of the gall-inducing insect community on shrubs. The lower availability of oviposition sites probably generates a dispute for these resources among females of different species of gall-inducing insects only in the shrubs. Therefore, the role of competition in the organization of herbivore insect communities on their host plant may vary depending on the ontogenetic stage of the host plant.