Predation by the tropical plant Utricularia foliosa

Abstract

1. We examined the prey captured by individual plants of the tropical carnivorous plant Utricularia foliosa, located in different areas along a creek in the Colombian Amazon and the zooplankton and macroinvertebrate communities associated with the plants. The aims were: (i) to determine whether bladders of different sizes within each plant catch different numbers of prey or exploit different size ranges and types of prey, (ii) if the quantity and composition of prey captured varies temporally and/or spatially and (iii) if the plant has evolved effective mechanisms of attracting prey. 2. Utricularia foliosa captured the most abundant species of macroinvertebrates associated with the plant. Larger bladders captured more, larger and more diverse prey. However, benefits of the extra prey caught by large bladders were not offset by the greater cost of producing bladders larger than approximately 1650 lm. 3. The number of prey captured was higher in those plants with more carbohydrates per bladder and with a higher ratio of antenna size/bladder length. The antennae enhance capture success by offering the prey a favourable substratum that exploits their natural locomotor and feeding behaviour. However, although carbohydrates may lure prey, carbohydrate production was not a strategy of the plant to enhance the capture of prey, because the amount of carbohydrates in the bladder was related to the abundance of periphyton.

Early stadium damselfly larvae (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) as prey of an aquatic plant, Utricularia australis

“…are well-known predators of small crustaceans such as Copepoda, Phyllopoda and Ostracoda (Harms, 2002). Small insects, such as larvae of Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, Culicidae and Ephemeroptera, as well as Corixidae (Heteroptera) are also known fall prey to them (Andrikovics, Forró & Zsunics, 1988;Baumgartner, 1987;Mette, Wilbert & Barthlott, 2000;Sanabria-Aranda et al, 2006). It is no surprise that odonate larvae should be among the insect groups preyed on.…”

“…are very small. They prey mainly on very small aquatic arthropods, including planktonic micro-crustaceans such as copepods, cladocerans and ostracods (Harms, 2002), as well as small dipteran larvae and mites (Baumgartner, 1987;Sanabria-Aranda et al, 2006). However, the question of whether odonate larvae could fall prey to these plants has long remained unclear, and only after several years of searching for direct evidence, as well as an exhaustive literature survey, has the issue finally been resolved.…”

Captura y selectividad del zooplancton por Utricularia foliosa (Lentibulariaceae) en la Ciénaga de Paredes, Santander, Colombia

“…= conductividad eléctrica, B-f = febrero, B-j = julio, A-m =mayo, A-n = noviembre, los géneros en la gráfica se representan con sus tres primeras letras (Cuadro 1), Ciénaga de Paredes, Colombia. Sanabria-Aranda et al, 2006), no apareció en la dieta de ninguno de los individuos analizados en la ciénaga, aunque fue identificada en la estación de muestreo.…”

“…Algo similar a lo encontrado por Sanabria-Aranda et al (2006). Estudios previos en la especie demuestran una relación entre el tamaño de los utrículos y la eficiencia en la captura de los géneros, es decir un aumento en la riqueza y abundancia de los grupos, con el aumento del tamaño de los utrí-culos (Díaz-Olarte et al, 2007).…”

Prey spectra of aquatic Utricularia species (Lentibulariaceae) in northeastern Germany: The role of planktonic algae

“…The prey of aquatic Utricularia species mainly consists of zooplanktic organisms (Andrikovics et al, 1988;Guisande et al, 2000;Harms, 1999;Mette et al, 2000;Sanabria-Aranda et al, 2006), and there are reports on trapped algae and cyanobacteria too (Botta, 1976;Goebel, 1891;Hegner, 1926;Lemmermann, 1914;Mette et al, 2000). But no details are available with regard to the ecological role of this latter phenomenon.…”