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Rodríguez-Morales D, Aguirre-Jaimes A, García-Franco JG. Effects of Florivory on Floral Visitors and Reproductive Success of Sagittaria lancifolia (Alismataceae) in a Mexican Wetland. Plants (Basel) 2024; 13:547. [PMID: 38498564 PMCID: PMC10893147 DOI: 10.3390/plants13040547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Florivores consume floral structures with negative effects on plant fitness and pollinator attraction. Several studies have evaluated these consequences in hermaphroditic plants, but little is known about the effects on monoecious and dioecious species. We characterize the florivory and its effects on floral visitors and reproductive success in a monoecious population of Sagittaria lancifolia. Five categories of florivory were established according to the petal area consumed. Visits were recorded in male and female flowers within the different damage categories. Reproductive success was evaluated through fruit number and weight, as well as the number of seeds per fruit. Our results show that the weevil Tanysphyrus lemnae is the main florivore, and it mainly damages the female flowers. Hymenoptera were recorded as the most frequent visitors of both male and female flowers. Male and female flowers showed differences in visit frequency, which decreases as flower damage increases. Reproductive success was negatively related to the level of damage. We found that florivory is common in the population of S. lancifolia, which can exert a strong selective pressure by making the flowers less attractive and reducing the number of seeds per fruit. Future studies are needed to know how florivores affect plant male fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Armando Aguirre-Jaimes
- Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, Xalapa 91070, VC, Mexico;
| | - José G. García-Franco
- Red de Ecología Funcional, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, Xalapa 91070, VC, Mexico
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Novais S, Ayala-Sánchez D, Figueroa-Alvarez JA, Aguirre-Jaimes A, García-Franco JG, Quesada M, Hernández-Ortiz V. Burrow builders as ecosystem engineers for pit-building antlions (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae). Sci Nat 2022; 109:57. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-022-01825-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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González-Vanegas PA, Rös M, García-Franco JG, Aguirre-Jaimes A. Buzz-Pollination in a Tropical Montane Cloud Forest: Compositional Similarity and Plant-Pollinator Interactions. Neotrop Entomol 2021; 50:524-536. [PMID: 33877567 DOI: 10.1007/s13744-021-00867-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Buzz-pollinated plants are an essential source of pollen for a significant portion of local bee communities. Buzz pollination research has focused on studying the properties of bee buzzes and their implications on pollen release, morphological specialization of flowers, and the reproductive ecology of buzz-pollinated plants. In contrast, diversity patterns and ecological interactions between bees and buzz-pollinated plants have been studied less. This study analyzed the buzzing bee community of twelve tropical buzz-pollinated co-occurring plant species in a tropical montane cloud forest during the flowering periods of two consecutive years, focusing on diversity, compositional similarity, structure, and specialization (H2´) of the network. Twenty-one bee species belonging to Apidae, Colletidae, and Halictidae were recorded, fifteen species in 2014, and eighteen in 2015. Floral display and visited flowers doubled from first to second year, although the flowering period was 2 months longer in the first year. Bee compositional similarity between plants tended to be low; however, this was due rather to a high nestedness than species replacement. Temporal bee compositional similarity was also low but variable, and different plant species showed the highest similarity between years. The number of bee visits depended significantly on the number of flowers and years. Interactions between bees and plants showed a tendency to generalization. Compared to other buzz-pollinated networks, specialization (H2´) was similar, but diversity was low and the network small. In endangered ecosystems like the Mexican cloud forest, however, buzzing bees support biodiversity and provide an essential ecological service by pollinating dominant understory flora.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthias Rös
- CONACYT, CIIDIR-Oaxaca, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Xoxocotlan, Oaxaca, Mexico.
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Novais S, Aguirre-Jaimes A, Quesada M, Hernández-Ortiz V. Ecosystem engineering by leaf-rolling mites enhances arthropod diversity. Naturwissenschaften 2020; 107:45. [PMID: 33001285 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-020-01702-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Many arthropods modify parts of plants through the construction of domiciles or by consuming plant tissues that, after abandoned, can be used as shelter by other arthropods in a facilitating interaction process. We examined, for the first time, the potential of leaf-rolling mites to indirectly influence arthropod communities in natural forests by providing shelter sites. In early June 2019, we found a high density of leaves of Amphitecna tuxtlensis (Bignoniaceae) rolled by an undetermined leaf-rolling mite species in a tropical rainforest, in Mexico. We tested whether the species richness, abundance, and colonization frequency of arthropods was greater in rolled compared with expanded leaves. We collected 5 rolled leaves and 5 fully expanded leaves from 15 A. tuxtlensis trees (N = 150 sampled leaves) and recorded all arthropods on each leaf. We recorded 1421 arthropods from 67 unique morphospecies. We found 39 individuals from 23 morphospecies of arthropods in expanded leaves, and 1382 individuals from 56 morphospecies in rolled leaves. Ants were the most abundant and frequent group and utilized the rolled leaves mainly as nesting sites; 1260 ant individuals were found in 30 nests from three species. Arthropod species richness, abundance, and colonization frequency were greater in rolled leaves compared with expanded leaves. We concluded that the ecosystem engineering effect of leaf-rolling mites may be an important structuring element for arthropod communities on plants through an increase of high quality food resources and shelter sites for other arthropods, as well as nesting sites for ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Novais
- Laboratório de Ecologia Evolutiva e Biodiversidade, Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30270-971, Brazil.,Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 58190, Morelia, MICH, México.,Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 58190, Morelia, MICH, México
| | - Armando Aguirre-Jaimes
- Instituto de Ecología A.C., Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, 91070, Xalapa, VER, México
| | - Mauricio Quesada
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 58190, Morelia, MICH, México.,Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 58190, Morelia, MICH, México
| | - Vicente Hernández-Ortiz
- Instituto de Ecología A.C., Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, 91070, Xalapa, VER, México.
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Amancio G, Aguirre-Jaimes A, Hernández-Ortiz V, Guevara R, Quesada M. Vertical and Horizontal Trophic Networks in the Aroid-Infesting Insect Community of Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, Mexico. Insects 2019; 10:insects10080252. [PMID: 31443212 PMCID: PMC6722588 DOI: 10.3390/insects10080252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Revised: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Insect-aroid interaction studies have focused largely on pollination systems; however, few report trophic interactions with other herbivores. This study features the endophagous insect community in reproductive aroid structures of a tropical rainforest of Mexico, and the shifting that occurs along an altitudinal gradient and among different hosts. In three sites of the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, we surveyed eight aroid species over a yearly cycle. The insects found were reared in the laboratory, quantified and identified. Data were analyzed through species interaction networks. We recorded 34 endophagous species from 21 families belonging to four insect orders. The community was highly specialized at both network and species levels. Along the altitudinal gradient, there was a reduction in richness and a high turnover of species, while the assemblage among hosts was also highly specific, with different dominant species. Our findings suggest that intrinsic plant factors could influence their occupation, and that the coexistence of distinct insect species in the assemblage could exert a direct or indirect influence on their ability to colonize such resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guadalupe Amancio
- Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Veracruz 91073, Mexico
| | - Armando Aguirre-Jaimes
- Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Veracruz 91073, Mexico
| | - Vicente Hernández-Ortiz
- Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Veracruz 91073, Mexico.
| | - Roger Guevara
- Red de Biologia Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Veracruz 91073, Mexico
| | - Mauricio Quesada
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia 58190 Michoacán, Mexico
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia 58190 Michoacán, Mexico
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Cocoletzi E, Contreras-Varela X, García-Pozos MJ, López-Portilla L, Gaspariano-Machorro MD, García-Chávez J, Fernandes GW, Aguirre-Jaimes A. Incidence of galls on fruits of Parkinsonia praecox and its consequences on structure and physiology traits in a Mexican semi-arid region. REV MEX BIODIVERS 2019. [DOI: 10.22201/ib.20078706e.2019.90.2758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
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Amancio G, Hernández-Ortiz V, Aguirre-Jaimes A, Guevara R, Quesada M. Feeding Specialization of Flies (Diptera: Richardiidae) in Aroid Infructescences (Araceae) of the Neotropics. J Insect Sci 2019; 19:5522601. [PMID: 31234211 PMCID: PMC6592413 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iez065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Evolution and radiation between insects and flowering plants are both opportunistic and obligatory when the former feeds on the reproductive structures of the latter, whereas direct and indirect effects can influence the fitness of individuals, populations, and plant communities. The Araceae family constitutes an important element of the tropical rainforest of the Neotropics, and its morphology and floral biology provide a remarkable system for studying trophic interactions with insects, including the Richardiidae flies (Diptera). We studied the trophic interactions of the aroid-fly system, assessing infestation rates under natural conditions over an annual cycle. In the Neotropical region, we discovered for the first time that seven aroid species became infested by four richardiid species: Beebeomyia tuxtlaensis Hernández-Ortiz and Aguirre with Dieffenbachia oerstedii Schott and D. wendlandii Schott; B. palposa (Cresson) with Xanthosoma robustum Schott; Beebeomyia sp.3. in association with Philodendron radiatum Schott, P. tripartitum (Jacq.) Schott, and P. sagittifolium Liebm.; while Sepsisoma sp. only infested Rhodospatha wendlandii Schott. Infestation rates differed significantly among hosts, but comparisons with morphological traits did not provide evidence of a causal factor of the infestation. In contrast, larval density and time of development both exhibited significant differences between hosts. The findings suggest the high specialization of the flies, and that intrinsic factors of the plants, such as the presence of secondary metabolites and their maturation periods, may influence their infestation rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guadalupe Amancio
- Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Instituto de Ecología AC, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | | | | | - Roger Guevara
- Red de Biología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología AC, Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - Mauricio Quesada
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, México
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Fernandes GW, Aguirre-Jaimes A, Araújo-Oliveira L. Induction, engineering, and hijacking of defensive strategies of the host by a gall-inducing weevil. Ecology 2019; 100:e02693. [PMID: 30883734 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2018] [Revised: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Geraldo Wilson Fernandes
- Ecologia Evolutiva and Biodiversidade, ICB/Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.,Biology Department, Stanford University, Stanford, California , 94305, USA
| | - Armando Aguirre-Jaimes
- Instituto de Ecología A.C., Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, Xalapa, Veracruz, 91070, México
| | - Lázaro Araújo-Oliveira
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras do Alto São Francisco, Avenida Laerton Paulinelli 153, 35595-000, Luz, Minas Gerais, Brazil
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Martínez-Adriano CA, Díaz-Castelazo C, Aguirre-Jaimes A. Flower-mediated plant-butterfly interactions in an heterogeneous tropical coastal ecosystem. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5493. [PMID: 30210938 PMCID: PMC6130237 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2018] [Accepted: 07/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Interspecific interactions play an important role in determining species richness and persistence in a given locality. However at some sites, the studies, especially for interaction networks on adult butterflies are scarce. The present study aimed the following objectives: (1) determine butterfly species richness and diversity that visit flowering plants, (2) compare species richness and diversity in butterfly-plant interactions among six different vegetation types and (3) analyze the structure of butterfly-flowering plant interaction networks mediated by flowers. METHODS The study was developed in six vegetation types within the natural reserve of La Mancha, located in Veracruz, Mexico. In each vegetation type, we recorded the frequency of flower visits by butterflies monthly in round plots (of radius 5 m) for 12 months. We calculated Shannon diversity for butterfly species and diversity of interactions per vegetation type. We determined the classic Jaccard similarity index among vegetation types and estimated parameters at network and species-level. RESULTS We found 123 species of butterflies belonging to 11 families and 87 genera. The highest number of species belonged to Hesperiidae (46 species), followed by Nymphalidae (28) and Pieridae (14). The highest butterfly diversity and interaction diversity was observed in pioneer dune vegetation (PDV), coastal dune scrub (CDS) and tropical deciduous flooding forest and wetland (TDF-W). The same order of vegetation types was found for interaction diversity. Highest species similarity was found between PDV-CDS and PDV-TDF. The butterfly-plant interaction network showed a nested structure with one module. The species Ascia monuste, Euptoieta hegesia and Leptotes cassius were the most generalist in the network, while Horama oedippus, E. hegesia, and L. cassius were the species with highest dependencies per plant species. DISCUSSION Our study is important because it constitutes a pioneer study of butterfly-plant interactions in this protected area, at least for adult butterflies; it shows the diversity of interactions among flowering plants and butterflies. Our research constitutes the first approach (at a community level) to explore the functional role of pollination services that butterflies provide to plant communities. We highlighted that open areas show a higher diversity and these areas shared a higher number of species that shaded sites. In the interaction networks parameters, our results highlighted the higher dependence of butterflies by the flowers on which they feed than vice versa. In conclusion, the plant species (as a feeding resource) seem to limit the presence of butterfly species. Thus, this protected area is highly relevant for Lepidoptera diversity and the interaction between these insects and flowering plants. We suggest that studying plant and butterfly diversity in tropical habitats will provide insight into their interspecific interactions and community structure.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cecilia Díaz-Castelazo
- Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Instituto de Ecología, A. C., Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - Armando Aguirre-Jaimes
- Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Instituto de Ecología, A. C., Xalapa, Veracruz, México
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