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Territorial foraging behavior in the male Violet-capped Woodnymph is dependent on the density of patches of inflorescences of Heliconia spathocircinata Aristeg. (Heliconiaceae) in the Brazilian Atlantic forest

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Abstract

Hummingbirds can vary their foraging strategies by adopting different behavior patterns. In Central America, the territorial behavior of these birds may be influenced by the floral resource availability in patches of Heliconia L. (Heliconiaceae) species. We investigated whether a similar pattern occurs in the South American species, Heliconia spathocircinata Aristeg., in a fragment of Atlantic forest in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and whether agonistic interactions between the hummingbirds were correlated with the body weight. We conducted focal observations over two flowering seasons (2011/2012 and 2012/2013) in 159 patches of H. spathocircinata to evaluate whether territorial defense by the hummingbirds depends on floral resource availability (number of inflorescences per patch of 78.5 m2), using a linear regression analysis. This patch area (territory size) was defined arbitrarily, based on the typical size of inflorescence patches found within the study area. The potential relationship between body weight and agonism was evaluated using a Pearson correlation. We recorded 55 different territories defended by Thalurania glaucopis (Gmelin, 1788) in patches containing between eight and 16 inflorescences. The number of times the T. glaucopis males defended their territories was influenced by the number of inflorescences per patch. Agonism was positively correlated with body weight only for intraspecific interactions in T. glaucopis. This indicates that the foraging behavior of the pollinator of the South American H. spathocircinata may be influenced directly by the available number of inflorescences in patches of this plant.

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Figs. 1–2
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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the owners and employees of the Reserva Ecologica de Guapiaçú for their support during the development of this study. We also thank Lulu Stader, Clinton Jenkins, and Stephen Ferrari for their review of the English and improvement of the manuscript. We also acknowledge the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), and the Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) for financial support for Maria Alice S. Alves (processes 308792/2009-2 and E-26/102.837868/2012, respectively). CNPq also provided the first author with a masters scholarship (processes 133520/2012-9).

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  1. Caio C. C. Missagia

    Present address: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP: 20.550-011, Brazil

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP: 21.941-540, Brazil

    Caio C. C. Missagia

  2. Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia Roberto Alcantara Gomes, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, CEP: 20.550-011, Brazil

    Maria Alice S. Alves

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  1. Caio C. C. Missagia
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Correspondence to Maria Alice S. Alves.

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Missagia, C.C.C., Alves, M.A.S. Territorial foraging behavior in the male Violet-capped Woodnymph is dependent on the density of patches of inflorescences of Heliconia spathocircinata Aristeg. (Heliconiaceae) in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. Braz. J. Bot 39, 1145–1150 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-016-0303-x

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