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Exploring the suitability of bromeliads as aquatic breeding habitats for cacao pollinators

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Abstract

Bromeliads are common plants in the Neotropics. Being epiphytic, they are often incorrectly considered as parasites and removed from agroforestry systems. However, their water-filled leaf axils provide habitats for a diverse group of aquatic organisms, potentially including cacao pollinating dipterans which could be beneficial to local farmers. Thus far, it is unclear how frequently and abundantly potential pollinators occur in bromeliads in cacao plantations. Therefore, we investigated the aquatic fauna in different types of bromeliads in Nicaraguan cacao agroforestry systems. Our main goal was to study the impact of bromeliad morphology and vertical position on aquatic biodiversity with particular attention for larvae of presumed cacao pollinators. Aquatic biodiversity was higher in larger bromeliads and in bromeliads positioned closer to the ground. Particularly invertebrates without flying life stages were deficient in elevated bromeliads suggesting dispersal limitation. Potential cacao pollinators occurred in 66% of the bromeliads and were most abundant in bromeliads with larger tanks that were located higher in the canopy rather than on the plantation floor. We conclude that larvae of cacao pollinators can be common and relatively abundant inhabitants of tank bromeliads in cacao trees, and it is likely that preserving these habitats could boost local pollinator abundances.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Marvin Palacios Montes, Catherine Turner and Justine Vansynghel for the logistical support. Our gratitude goes out to Miguel Peralta Riviera, Isabel Mongares Gutierrez, Serapio Aguilar Huerta and Anaíris Martinez who allowed us to work in their cacao plantations. This work was supported by the Flemish Interuniversity Council - University Development Cooperation (Grant Number NDOC2015PR005) and performed under the necessary permits obtained at the Ministerio del Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Medio Ambiente Nicaragua (research permit DGPN/DB-IC-007-2016; export permit DGPN/DB-013-2016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Community Ecology Lab, Department of Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Mathil Vandromme, Hendrik Trekels & Bram Vanschoenwinkel

  2. Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), 7170, Cartago, Turrialba, 30501, Costa Rica

    Norvin Sepúlveda Ruiz & Eduardo Somarriba

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  1. Mathil Vandromme
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  2. Hendrik Trekels
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  3. Norvin Sepúlveda Ruiz
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  4. Eduardo Somarriba
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  5. Bram Vanschoenwinkel
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Correspondence to Mathil Vandromme.

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Vandromme, M., Trekels, H., Sepúlveda Ruiz, N. et al. Exploring the suitability of bromeliads as aquatic breeding habitats for cacao pollinators. Hydrobiologia 828, 327–337 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3822-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3822-6

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