Different prey strategies of terrestrial and aquatic species in the carnivorous genus Utricularia (Lentibulariaceae)

Seine, R.; Porembski, Stefan; Balduin, Melanie; Theisen, Inge; Wilbert, Norbert; Barthlott, Wilhelm

doi:10.1127/0006-8152/2002/0124-0071

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Unlike Hegner (1926), we found only little amounts of protozoa (3.2% of all prey) in all kinds of waters. So our results do not support the hypothesis of Mette et al (2000) that aquatic Utricularia is specialised for the trapping of protozoa like the terrestrial species (Barthlott et al 2004;Seine et al 2002).…”

Section: Algae Are Trapped By Utriculariacontrasting

confidence: 78%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Utricularia: a vegetarian carnivorous plant?

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aquatic carnivorous plants of the genus Utricularia capture and utilise a wide range of small aquatic organisms. Most of the literature focuses on animals as prey. In this study, we investigate the occurrence of algae inside the traps of four species of bladderwort. We observed that algae of 45 genera form up to 80% of the total prey; algae were found frequently in traps without animal prey. The majority are coccal and trichal algae of the families Desmidiaceae and Zygnemataceae. The percentage of algae increases significantly with decreasing electric conductivity of the water (r S = -0.417; P = 0,000). Thus, algae are the most frequent prey in extremely soft waters. The percentage of algae did not differ significantly, not within the investigated Utricularia species or within the various study sites. However, the taxonomic composition of the algal prey showed highly significant differences between different sites. More than 90% of the trapped algae were killed and degraded by the bladders. The recent data allow for two alternative hypotheses: either algal prey supplements animal prey in oligotrophic waters, or the unprofitable trapping of algae is rather an additional stress factor for Utricularia and contributes to its limited distribution in some peat bogs.

show abstract

Section: Algae Are Trapped By Utriculariacontrasting

confidence: 78%

“…2004;Cohn 1875;Darwin 1875;Garbini 1898cited after Hegi 1906Harms 1999;Harms 2002;Hegner 1926;Mette et al 2000;Seine et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Utricularia: a vegetarian carnivorous plant?

et al. 2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The extreme reduction of photosynthetically active tissue in terrestrial bladderworts and the assumed accompanying decrease in photosynthetic capacity would have to be offset by the use of prey as the most important source of chemical energy. In contrast to aquatic Utricularia species which prey mainly on cyclopoid copepodids, cladocerans, ostracods and rotifers (Mette et al, 2000), or may rely on mutualistic interactions with microorganism communities in bladders (Richards, 2001), terrestrial Utricularia plants with their tiny bladders are specialized in trapping protozoa (Seine et al, 2002). Protozoa occur abundantly at the natural growth sites of terrestrial Utricularia species (Steffens and Wilbert, 2002), and could thus provide a sufficient energy resource.…”

Section: Article In Pressmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…It has been shown recently that these species possess significantly smaller traps than aquatic members of this genus (Seine et al, 2002). Similar to the related genus Genlisea (Barthlott et al, 1998), it appears as if the terrestrial species are highly specialized to trap protozoa (Seine et al, 2002). Moreover, terrestrial Utricularia species are remarkable because of their often tiny leaves compared to the size of their inflorescences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…However, surprisingly little is known on cost-benefit ratio and the prey of terrestrial bladderworts. It has been shown recently that these species possess significantly smaller traps than aquatic members of this genus (Seine et al, 2002). Similar to the related genus Genlisea (Barthlott et al, 1998), it appears as if the terrestrial species are highly specialized to trap protozoa (Seine et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

See 1 more Smart Citation