Abstract
The first data on the taxonomic distribution and abundance of woody plants with extrafloral nectaries (EFN) from SE Asia are reported. The species richness and frequency of woody angiosperm plants with extrafloral nectaries was studied in the Pasoh Forest Reserve, a primary lowland forest in Peninsular Malaysia. EFN were present on 12.3% of the 741 species surveyed. 91 plant species belonging to 47 genera and 16 families were found to have EFN. Euphorbiaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Rosaceae, Leguminosae, and Ebenaceae were the families most frequently bearing EFN whereas EFN were rare in the more primitive subclasses of the Magnoliopsida and common in the more advanced taxa (Dilleniidae, Rosidae, Asteridae). Most common were flattened glands associated with the leaf blade. A comparison with data from the Neotropics showed a great similarity in regard to the taxonomic distribution of plants with EFN. EFN-plants occupied 19.3% of the cover of the Pasoh Forest 50 ha plot.
Species with EFN were under-represented among shrubs and trees of the understorey. We found an increase in the number of species with EFN as well as in their cover from the understorey to the canopy emergents. EFN were found more often among the abundant species (species with n>500/50 ha). Percentage occurrence and cover of EFN-bearing plants in the 50 ha plot of primary forest was lower than recorded for secondary habitats in tropical areas. At present, in the core zone of the Pasoh Forest Reserve which has been investigated only few species known to indicate disturbance occur. Therefore most of the recorded EFN-species cannot be regarded as secondary forest plants.
The interactions between ants and EFN-bearing plants appear to be rather facultative and nonspecific. In Pasoh we found 28 ant species from seven genera visiting EFN. Most of the EFN-associated ants belonged to the subfamily Myrmicinae while Ponerines were rare, a pattern which was also reported for the Neotropics.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beattie, A.J. (1985) The evolutionary ecology of ant-plant mutualisms. pp. 182. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bentley, B.L. (1976) Plants bearing extrafloral nectaries and the associated ant community: interhabitat differences in the reduction of herbivore damage. Ecology 57, 815–20.
Bentley, B.L. (1981) Ants, extrafloral nectaries and the vine life-form: an interaction. Trop. Ecol. 22, 127–33.
Burghouts, T., Ernsting, G., Korthals, G. and De Vries, T. (1992) Litter fall, leaf litter decomposition and litter invertebrates in primary and selectively logged dipterocarp forest in Sabah, Malaysia. In Tropical rain forest: disturbance and recovery (A.G. Marshall and M.D. Swaine, eds) pp. 407–17. Oxford: Alden Press.
Elias, T.S. (1983) Extrafloral nectaries: their structure and distribution. In The biology of nectaries (B.L. Bentley and T.S. Elias, eds) pp. 174–203. New York: Columbia University Press.
Fiala, B. (1990) Extrafloral nectaries versus ant-homoptera mutualism: a comment on Becerra and Venable. Oikos 59, 281–2.
Fiala, B. and Maschwitz, U. (1991) Extrafloral nectaries in the genus Macaranga (Euphorbiaceae) in Malaysia: comparative studies of their possible significance as predispositions for myrmecophytism. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 44, 287–305.
Fiala, B. and Maschwitz, U. (1992a) Domatia as most important preadaptations in the evolution of myrmecophytes in the paleotropical tree genus Macaranga (Euphorbiaceae). Plant. Syst. Evol. 180, 53–64.
Fiala, B. and Maschwitz, U. (1992b) Food bodies in the genus Macaranga and their significance for the evolution of myrmecophytism. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 110, 61–75.
Fiala, B., Maschwitz, U. and Tho, Y.P. (1991) The association between Macaranga and ants in South East Asia. In Interactions between ants and plants (C. Huxley and R. Cutler, eds) pp. 263–70. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fiala, B., Grunsky, H., Maschwitz, U. and Linsenmair, K.E. (1994a) Diversity of ant-plant interactions: Protective efficacy in Macaranga species with different degrees of ant-association. Oecologia 97, 186–92.
Fiala, B., Maschwitz, U. and Linsenmair, K.E. (1994b) Diversität von Ameisen-Pflanzen-Interaktionen im südostasiatischen Regenwald. Andrias, 13. Sonderband: tropische Arthropoden, Museum für Naturkunde, Karlsruhe, 169–78.
Hess, D. (1983) Die Blüte. pp. 458. Stuttgart: Ulmer.
Hubbell, S.P. and Foster, R.B. (1986) Canopy gaps and the dynamics of a neotropical forest. In Plant ecology (M.J. Crawley, ed.) pp. 77–6. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.
Keeler, K.H. (1979a) Distribution of plants with extrafloral nectaries in a temperate flora (Nebraska). Prairie Naturalist 11, 33–7.
Keeler, K.H. (1979b) Distribution of extrafloral nectaries and ants at two elevations in Jamaica. Biotropica 11, 152–4.
Keeler, K.H. (1981) Cover of plants with extrafloral nectaries in four northern California habitats. Madrono 28, 26–9.
Keeler, K.H. (1989) Ant-plant interactions. In Plant-animal interactions (W.G. Abrahamson, ed.) pp. 207–42. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kochummen, K.M., LaFrankie, J.V. and Manokaran, N. (1990) Floristic composition of Pasoh Forest Reserve, a lowland rain forest in Peninsular Malaysia. J. Trop. Forest Sci. 3, 1–13.
Koptur, S., Dillon, P., Foster, C., Chaverri, A. and Chu, K. (1977) A comparison of ant activity and extrafloral nectaries at various sites in Costa Rica. O.T.S. Tropical Biology Coursebook 77-3: 299.
Koptur, S. (1991) Extrafloral nectaries of herbs and trees: modelling the interaction with ants and parasitoids. In Ant-plant interactions (C.R. Huxley and D.F. Cutler, eds) pp. 213–30. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Koptur, S. (1992) Extrafloral nectary-mediated interactions between insects and plants. In Insect-plant interactions. Vol. IV. (E. Bernays, ed.) pp. 82–129. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.
Manokaran, N., LaFrankie, J.V., Kochummen, K.M., Quah, E.S., Klahn, J.E., Ashton, P.S. and Hubbell, S.P. (1990) Methodology for the Fifty Hectare Research Plot at Pasoh Forest Reserve. FRIM Research Pamphlet N. 104. Kepong. pp. 69.
Manokaran, N., LaFrankie, J.V., Kochummen, K.M., Quah, E.S., Klahn, J.E., Ashton, P.S. and Hubbell, S.P. (1992) Stand table and distribution of species in the 50-ha Research Plot at Pasoh Forest Reserve. FRIM Research Data No. 1. Kepong, Malaysia.
Morellato, L.P.C. and Oliveira, P.S. (1991) Distribution of extrafloral nectaries in different vegetation types of Amazonian Brazil. Flora 185, 33–8.
McKey, D. (1989) Interactions between ants and leguminous plants. In Advances in legume biology (C.H. Stirton and J.L. Zarucchi, eds) pp. 673–718. Monographs in Systematic Botany. Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden.
McKey, D. (1992) Interactions between ants and plants: comparison of canopy, understorey and clearing environments. In Biologie d'une canopée de forêt équatoriale II. (F. Hallé and O. Pascal, eds) pp. 66–73. Paris: Fondation Elf.
Ng, F.S.P. (ed.) (1978, 1989) Tree flora of Malaya. Volumes 3 and 4. Kuala Lumpur: Longman.
O'Dowd, D.J. (1979) Foliar nectar production and ant activity on a neotropical tree, Ochroma pyramidale. Oecologia 43, 233–48.
Oliveira, P.S. and Leitao-Filho, H.F. (1987) Extrafloral nectaries: their taxonomic distribution and abundance in the woody flora of cerrado vegetation in southeast Brazil. Biotropica 19, 140–8.
Oliveira, P.S. and Brandao, R.F. (1991) The ant community associated with extrafloral nectaries in the Brazilian cerrados. In Ant-plant interactions. (C.R. Huxley and D.F. Cutler, eds) pp. 198–212. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Oliveira, P.S. and Oliveira-Filho, A.T. (1991) Distribution of extrafloral nectaries in the woody flora of tropical communities in Western Brazil. In Evolutionary ecology of plant-animal interactions (P.W. Price et al., eds) pp. 163–75. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Pemberton, R.W. (1990) The occurrence of extrafloral nectaries in Korean plants. Korean J. Ecol. 13, 251–66.
Pyke, G.H. (1991) What does it cost a plant to produce floral nectar? Nature 350, 58–9.
Schupp, E.W. and Feener, D.H. (1991) Phylogeny, lifeform, and habitat dependence of ant-defended plants in a Panamanian forest. In Ant-plant interactions (C.R. Huxley and D.F. Cutler, eds) pp. 175–97. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Southwick, E.E. (1984) Photosynthate allocation to floral nectar: a neglected energy investment. Ecology 65, 1775–9.
Whalen, M.A. and Mackay, D.A. (1988) Patterns of ant and herbivore activity on five understorey euphorbiaceous saplings in submontane Papua New Guinea. Biotropica 20, 294–300.
Whitmore, T.C. (ed.) (1972, 1973) Tree flora of Malaya. Volumes 1 and 2. Kuala Lumpur: Longman.
Zimmermann, J. (1932) Über die extrafloralen Nektarien der Angiospermen. Beihefte Botanisches Zentralblatt 49, 99–196.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
In cooperation with the Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, 52109 Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malaysia.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fiala, B., Linsenmair, K.E. Distribution and abundance of plants with extrafloral nectaries in the woody flora of a lowland primary forest in Malaysia. Biodivers Conserv 4, 165–182 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00137783
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00137783