The Pollination of Bromelia antiacantha (Bromeliaceae) in Southeastern Brazil: Ornithophilous versus Melittophilous Features

Abstract

Bromelia antiacantha flowered from December to February and during this period the central leaves and bracts displayed a bright red colour. The inflorescence bears 150-350 flowers, with 10-35 flowers opening per day over 4-5 days. The flowers are dark magenta coloured with white margins, tubular-shaped with a wide opening, and their stigma is situated below the anthers. Anthesis began around 4:00 h and flowers lasted approximately 15 h. The highest nectar volume and sugar concentration occurred between 4:00-6:00 h; after this period, both decreased throughout the day. B. antiacantha is partially self-incompatible, non-autogamous, and therefore, pollinator dependent. The hummingbirds Thalurania glaucopis, Amazilia fimbriata, and Ramphodon naevius were its most frequent pollinators (55% of the visits), visiting flowers mainly in the afternoon. The scattered distribution of B. antiacantha promoted trap-lining behaviour of the hummingbirds, which favoured fruit set through xenogamy. Corolla colour, wide flower opening, sweet odour and concentrated nectar early in the day favoured bee visitation. Of the 38 % of bee visits, 96% were made by Bombus morio, mainly in the morning and their behaviour promoted self-pollination. The bee Trigona spinipes frequently acted as a pollen and nectar thief early in the morning, excluding most of the hummingbirds. Bromelia antiacantha has ornithophilous and melittophilous features, and despite being pollinated by two kinds of agents, its reproductive success depends on a given set of circumstances.

Biologia reprodutiva da reófita Dyckia brevifolia Baker (Bromeliaceae), no Rio Itajaí-Açu, Santa Catarina, Brasil

“…Comportamento similar de T. spinipes também foi evidenciado em espécies de Pitcairnia (Wendt et al 2001) e em Bromelia antiacantha Bertol. (Canela & Sazima 2005). Trigona spinipes apresentou comportamento agonístico em relação às abelhas (Xylocopa e Bombus spp.)…”

“…e às borboletas, o que afetou seus padrões de visitas. Em B. antiacantha o comportamento agressivo de T. spinipes também afetou o padrão de visitas de Bombus morio e dos beija-fl ores (Canela & Sazima 2005).…”

Adaptive radiation, correlated and contingent evolution, and net species diversification in Bromeliaceae

“…For the few cases in which no d 13 C value was available for a species, but all congeners studied have the same photosynthetic pathway, we coded remaining species as having that pathway. Data on pollination syndromes (avian, bat, insect) were drawn from Vogel (1954Vogel ( , 1969, Smith and Down (1974, 1977, 1979, Gardner (1986), Sazima et al (1989Sazima et al ( , 1995aSazima et al ( , 1995bSazima et al ( , 1996Sazima et al ( , 1999, Galetto and Bernardello (1992), Till (1992), Till (1998), Benzing (2000), Kessler and Krömer (2000), Dziedzioch et al (2003), Canela and Sazima (2005), Krömer et al (2005Krömer et al ( , 2006Krömer et al ( , 2008, and Tschapka and von Helversen (2007). For species lacking direct observations of pollinators, pollination syndromes were deduced from floral traits such as corolla color, size, and shape, position of the anthers, and presence/absence of landing platforms (Vogel, 1954;Baker and Baker, 1990).…”

Volatile compounds profile of Bromeliaceae flowers

“…Bats are also notable pollinator agents in some species that present scented flowers, of nocturnal anthesis (Sazima, Vogel, & Sazima, 1989;Knudsen & Tollsten, 1995;Sazima, Buzato, & Sazima, 1995;Aguilar-Rodríguez et al, 2014). In addition to ornithophily and chiropterophily, there are also records of pollination of Bromeliaceae by butterflies, bees, and beetles (Benzing, 2000;Kessler & Krömer, 2000;Canela & Sazima, 2005;Siqueira Filho & Machado, 2001;. The majority of Bromeliaceae has scentless flowers, except in a few cases such as Hohenbergia ridleyi (Baker) Mez.…”