Observations of the natural history and ecology of Nepenthes campanulata

Abstract

Nepenthes campanulata is a little known species from limestone cliff habitats in Borneo. In this study, we conducted the first field-based survey of pitcher dimensions and the prey and invertebrate fauna in N. campanulata pitchers, sampled from plants growing on the cliff face above Deer Cave in Gunung Mulu National Park. We found that the dominant prey taxon is Diptera, followed by Formicidae. The metazoan community that inhabits the pitchers consists of just three species, making it one of the simplest in the genus. The pitchers of N. campanulata have a unique structure among Nepenthes, which may be related to the highly specialized habitat that the plant occurs in. Prior to this study, N. campanulata had been recorded at just two localities: Mt. Ilas Bungaan in East Kalimantan, and Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak. However, on a recent expedition to Palawan, we observed plants that we identified as N. campanulata, which represents a remarkable extension to the geographical range of this species.

Prey capture patterns in Nepenthes species and natural hybrids — are the pitchers of hybrids as effective at trapping prey as those of their parents?

“…3 & 4). This pattern is typical of the vast majority of lowland Nepenthes species studied to date (Moran 1996;Adam 1997;Chin et al 2014;Clarke et al 2014), and appears to indicate that ants are the most important type of prey for these plants. The second most abundant prey taxon varied among sites: Diptera at Matang (Fig.…”

Convergence in carnivorous pitcher plants reveals a mechanism for composite trait evolution

“…In other species, horizontal lids could also be selected for more effective rain protection ( 35 ), although a larger lid may compensate for a steeper angle. Horizontal lids might also be advantageous for photosynthesis; however, pitchers contribute little to photosynthesis ( 36 ), lids are small compared to the leaf lamina, and a broad range of lid angles may be equally effective for light capture ( 37 ).…”

Morphological characteristic of Nepenthes gymnamphora’s pitcher in Pasir Cadas Panjang Mountain Ciwidey West Java

“…Vine length was also measured from the end of the lamina to the lowest point of the pitcher body. The pitcher height was measured from the lowest point of the pitcher body (at the vine attachment point) to the end of the peristome [10]. The largest part of the upper pitcher body was used to measure the upper circumference of the pitcher, while the lower circumference was measured at the largest part of the lower pitcher body.…”