Spider-fed bromeliads: seasonal and interspecific variation in plant performance

Gonçalves, Ana Zangirólame; Mercier, Helenice; Mazzafera, Paulo; Romero, Gustavo Q.

doi:10.1093/aob/mcr047

Cited by 28 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…In this study, we analysed the combined effect of epiphyte size, spatial position and isolation on the species richness, the relative proportion of rare species, and the community similarity of epiphyte‐inhabiting spiders. Spiders and epiphytes have a mutualistic relationship in which the plants provide spiders with a suitable habitat for foraging, reproduction, egg laying, and finding shelter (Gonçalves‐Souza, Brescovit, Rossa‐Feres, & Romero, ; Scheffers, Edwards, Diesmos, Williams, & Evans, ), and spiders reduce herbivore populations through predation and can make nutrients available to the plants (e.g., via excretion) (Gonçalves, Mercier, Mazzafera, & Romero, ; Romero, Mazzafera, Vasconcellos‐Neto, & Trivelin, ). Spiders are highly sensitive to subtle changes in habitat structure (Gonçalves‐Souza et al., ) and microclimatic conditions and they show active habitat selection (Omena & Romero, ; Rao, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Islands in the trees: A biogeographic exploration of epiphyte‐dwelling spiders

Méndez‐Castro

Bader

Mendieta‐Leiva

et al. 2018

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Epiphytic plants are isolated from each other by nonhabitat canopy elements and are thus expected to act as islands, the biodiversity of their inhabitants (e.g., spiders) conforming to island biogeographic predictions of species‐richness patterns. Although it has been shown that arthropod diversity decreases with decreasing epiphyte size, the effects of isolation have not yet been addressed. We studied the joint effect of isolation, spatial position, and size of epiphytic plants (canopy islands) on species richness, relative rareness, and similarity of spider communities. Location A shade‐coffee plantation in central Veracruz, Mexico. Taxon Spiders (Araneae), vascular epiphytes (Bromeliaceae, Piperaceae, Orchidaceae, Araceae, Pteridophyta). Methods We collected all canopy islands occurring on three trees and recorded their three‐dimensional spatial position. In the laboratory, we disassembled the plants and collected all spiders present. We analysed the effects of island size, isolation, and spatial position on the species richness and the relative rareness of spider communities using generalized linear models (GLM), on the distribution of different spider guilds using a CCA, and on community composition using a permutational multivariate analysis of variance (Permanova). Isolation and spatial position were addressed using five distance measures representing isolation from different potential species sources. We tested how the similarity in spider community composition changed with the distance between islands using Mantel correlograms. Results As predicted by island biogeography theory, spider species richness increased with canopy‐island size and decreased with isolation. In comparison to island size, the effect of isolation was weak, though significant. Relative rareness was hardly affected by island size but more by isolation. Compositional similarity was affected by island size and decreased with increasing spatial distance up to ca. 4 m. Guilds separated along the main CCA axes, this ordination being driven by epiphyte size and position. Main conclusions Epiphytic plants behaved like canopy islands in that their size and isolation influenced the diversity and composition of spider communities. However, the effect of isolation was only a fraction of that of island size, perhaps because spatial relationships are taxon‐specific. This may be due to differences in hunting behaviour and dispersal capacities, for example, between guilds of hunting and web‐building spiders, which is a dimension deserving more attention. For a better understanding of biogeographic principles driving the diversity of canopy island inhabitants, further research on this topic should include position and isolation, at scales matching the mobility of different functional groups, as part of their explanatory variables.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Islands in the trees: A biogeographic exploration of epiphyte‐dwelling spiders

Méndez‐Castro

Bader

Mendieta‐Leiva

et al. 2018

Journal of Biogeography

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“…The family Bromeliaceae has a significant ecological importance to the ecosystem where it is inserted due to the high number of interdependence relations that other organisms establish with species of this family, as well as the bromeliads with such organisms (Waser and Price, 1983;Romero and Vasconcellos-Neto, 2005;Gonçalves et al, 2011). Bromeliads are an important component in maintaining biological diversity (Siqueira Filho and Machado, 2001;Rios et al, 2010;Santana and Machado, 2010), since they provide shelter, serve as a substrate for foraging and even as a breeding site for many organisms (Ramalho et al, 2004;Romero and Vasconcellos-Neto, 2005;Andrade et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Floral visitors and potential pollinators of a rupicolous bromeliad (Pitcairnioideae) in the Brazilian semiarid

Jorge

Rocha

Jorge

et al. 2018

Neotropical Biology and Conservation

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This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), which permits reproduction, adaptation, and distribution provided the original author and source are credited. AbstractThere have been few studies about the pollinators of bromeliads of the genus Encholirium. Considering this lack of information, this study comes to fill a gap in the literature on the floral visitors and potential pollinators of E. spectabile. In order to perform this study, we observed the inflorescence of this species between 2011 and 2014 (four years of observation), in the semiarid region of Santa Maria municipality (Rio Grande do Norte state, northeastern Brazil). Floral visitors were observed through focal method. The observations were made during the day, starting at 06h a.m. until 06h p.m., and at night from 07h until 11h59 p.m. In about 1,800 hours of observations, 24 species were recorded visiting E. spectabile flowers, including 4 species of moths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae and Geometridae), 3 species of bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae), 4 species of hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae) and 2 species of bats (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), among others. Based on these results, we propose that the macambira bromeliads (E. spectabile) should be considered as key elements in the conservation of various taxonomic groups in the semiarid region, through the umbrella species theory as already proposed for other species of Bromeliaceae. Keywords: associated fauna, caatinga biome, macambiras, Encholirium spectabile, biodiversity. ResumoExistem poucos estudos a respeito dos polinizadores de bromélias do gênero Encholirium. Dessa forma, este estudo vem preencher a lacuna na literatura sobre os visitantes florais e potenciais polinizadores de E. spectabile. Para sua realização, observamos a inflorescência dessa espécie no período de 2011 a 2014 (quatro anos de observações), na região semiárida, no município de Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil. Os visitantes florais foram registrados por meio do método focal. As observações foram conduzidas durante o dia, começando às 06h da manhã e seguindo até às 18h e, à noite, das 19h às 23h59min. Em cerca de 1.800 horas de observação, 24 espécies foram registradas visitando a inflorescência de E. spectabile, incluindo 4 espécies de mariposas (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae e Geometridae), 3 espécies de abelhas (Hymenoptera: Apidae), 4 espécies de beija-flores (Aves: Trochilidae) e 2 espécies de morcegos (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), entre outros. Com base nesses resultados, e subsidiados pela teoria das espécies guarda-chuva, sugerimos que as bromélias macambiras (E. spectabile) sejam consideradas como elementos chave na conservação de vários grupos taxonômicos de região semiárida.Palavras-chave: fauna associada, bioma caatinga, macambiras, Encholirium spectabile, biodiversidade.

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“…Many of these arthropods complete their life-cycle on these plants, feeding at several trophic levels: on the plant, entrapped carrion, herbivores of the plant, and other predators (e.g., Be´renger and Pluot-Sigwalt 1997, Anderson 2005, Romero et al 2008, Voigt and Gorb 2008, Wheeler and Krimmel 2015. Second, a trend toward predator enrichment on carrion-covered plants has been shown in true carnivorous plants such as Pinguicula (Zamora 1990), and non-carnivorous plants such as the South African genus Roridula (Ellis andMidgley 1996, Anderson 2005), a glandular rhododendron (Sugiura and Yamazaki 2006), and a South American bromeliad (Gonc¸alves et al 2011). In both the bromeliad and Roridula systems, at least some of predator enhancement benefit comes from nutrients supplied by their feces (Ellis andMidgley 1996, Gonc¸alves et al 2011), though predators may also protect the plant from herbivores in 4 E-mail: lopresti.eric@gmail.com these systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The siren song of a sticky plant: Columbines provision mutualist arthropods by attracting and killing passerby insects

LoPresti

Pearse

Charles

2015

Ecology

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Abstract. Many plants provide predatory arthropods with food or shelter. Glandular trichomes entrap insects and may provision predators with insect carrion, though it has not been clear whether this putative benefit functions with natural amounts of carrion, whether plants actively attract insect ''tourists,'' and how common this provisioning system is. We tested the hypothesis that a sticky columbine (Aquilegia eximia: Ranunculaceae) attracts passerby arthropods (a siren song leading them to their demise); that these entrapped arthropods increased predators on the plant; and that these predators reduced damage to the plant. Sticky traps baited with columbine peduncles entrapped more arthropod carrion than unbaited control traps. Predator abundance correlated positively with carrion abundance observationally, and experimental removal of carrion reduced predator numbers. Experimental removal of carrion also increased damage to reproductive structures, likely due to reductions in predator numbers. This indirect defense may be common; we compiled a list of insect-trapping sticky plants that includes over 110 genera in 49 families, suggesting a widespread convergence of this trait, even in non-carnivorous plants. The ubiquity of this trait combined with these experiments suggest that carrion entrapment should be viewed as a common and active process mediated by the plant for indirect defense.

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Spider-fed bromeliads: seasonal and interspecific variation in plant performance

Cited by 28 publications

References 47 publications

Islands in the trees: A biogeographic exploration of epiphyte‐dwelling spiders

Islands in the trees: A biogeographic exploration of epiphyte‐dwelling spiders

Floral visitors and potential pollinators of a rupicolous bromeliad (Pitcairnioideae) in the Brazilian semiarid

The siren song of a sticky plant: Columbines provision mutualist arthropods by attracting and killing passerby insects

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