Plantas ornitófilas de sub-bosque e suas interações com beija-flores
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2014-02-27
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Universidade Federal de Goiás
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Ornithophilous plant species occur in greater number in the understory of tropical forests, with Acanthaceae as one of the major families with this pollination syndrome. However, several other angiosperm families have species pollinated by hummingbirds, which is the largest group of vertebrate pollinators of the Neotropic, besides being the most representative and specialized group of nectarivorous birds. The present study is organized into three chapters, with the following objectives: 1) Conduct a literature review, compiling information on the pollination and reproductive systems found in the family Acanthaceae Juss. in Brazil, 2) Assess the association between ornithophilous understory plants and hummingbirds in two fragments, evaluating potential levels of specialization according to the floral traits, 3) To investigate the pollination biology of Geissomeria pubescens Nees (Acanthaceae), including aspects of its morphology, floral biology, nectar energy availability and reproductive system. Four pollination syndromes were recorded in a total of 28 species of Acanthaceae family: ornithophily, melittophily, psicofilia and chiropterophily. The ornithophily was the predominant syndrome and, consequently, hummingbirds were the most common group of floral visitors. Regarding the reproductive system, 94.1% of the Acanthaceae species studied in Brazil are self-compatible. In the study of the community ecology of the ornithophilous plants, 12 species were recorded, with Acanthaceae being the principal ornithophilous family. Thalurania furcata was the hummingbird which interacted with the greatest number of species, being considered as a generalist. The average amount of sugar produced in the area, by the species, was the only factor associated with the visitation rate. This feature may be a consequence of the fact, that larger resource quantities represent greater attraction and greater abundance of hummingbirds that exploit these resources in the areas. G. pubescens was the ornithophilous species that offered the greatest amount of resources to hummingbirds in the studied area. Based only on the amount of available energy for this plant species, on a daily basis, the studied fragment can support up to 94.6 hummingbirds during its flowering peak. G. pubescens produced no fruit by agamospermy and self-spontaneous pollinations. Thus, these results demonstrate the importance of the hummingbirds (the unique visitors) in the pollen flow occurrence and therefore, in the fruit formation of the species.
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SILVA, Raphael Matias da. Plantas ornitófilas de sub-bosque e suas interações com beija-flores. 2014. 124 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Biodiversidade Vegetal) - Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, 2014.