Pollination systems in pioneer trees of the genus macaranga (euphorbiaceae) in Malaysian rainforests

Hashim, Rosli and Maschwitz, U. and Fiala, B. and Meyer, U. (2011) Pollination systems in pioneer trees of the genus macaranga (euphorbiaceae) in Malaysian rainforests. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 103 (4). pp. 935-953. ISSN 0024-4066, DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01680.x.

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Official URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1095-...

Abstract

Many species of Macaranga (Euphorbiacae) are fast-growing pioneer trees with an important role in early succession in south-east Asian rainforests. Within the genus, diverse types of ant-plant associations exist and it has therefore been a model system for studying mutualistic interactions. Little information existed up to now, however, on its reproductive biology. Our comparative study in the genus Macaranga in Sundaland revealed specific flower characteristics and uncommon brood-site pollination systems: enclosed inflorescence morphologies with narrow entrances strongly restrict the set of flower visitors in many species. Thysanoptera were the most abundant insects in 20 of the 26 investigated Macaranga species and, in three species, heteropteran adults and larvae were dominant. Both insect groups used the flower chambers as breeding sites and fed on nectar-producing trichomes inside the bracteoles. Thrips as well as heteropterans are assumed to contribute to pollination. Different Macaranga sections were associated with different flower visitors, suggesting isolation by different pollinators. Thrips pollination and myrmecophyty often occurred in the same sections. The development of enclosed flowers might have facilitated tight ant-plant interactions and prevent ant-pollinator conflicts. However, the complex ecosystems in which the mutualistic systems evolved are rapidly changed with unknown consequences for these specific interactions. (C) 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 103, 935-953.

Item Type: Article
Funders: UNSPECIFIED
Additional Information: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
Uncontrolled Keywords: Brood-site, Flower traits, Flowering phenology, Heteroptera, Mutualism, Myrmecophytes, South-east asia, Sundaland, Thrips, Thysanoptera, South-east-asia, Lowland dipterocarp forest, Brood-site pollination, Phylogenetic-relationships, Species euphorbiaceae, Ant-plants, Seed-set, Thrips, Thysanoptera, Association
Subjects: Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology
Divisions: Faculty of Science > Institute of Biological Sciences
Depositing User: Miss Malisa Diana
Date Deposited: 04 Sep 2013 01:53
Last Modified: 31 May 2019 05:05
URI: http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/8343

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