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Ants as floral visitors of Blutaparon portulacoides (A. St-Hil.) Mears (Amaranthaceae): an ant pollination system in the Atlantic Rainforest

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Abstract

Ant pollination is a debated topic that requires more attention in order to clarify the role of ants as potential pollinators. Although many authors consider ants as mere nectar robbers, there are studies proving that ants may act as pollinators and that some plants even have flower traits acting as ant attractors. In this study, we evaluated the role of the ants in pollination of Blutaparon portulacoides inflorescences. This plant species has most of the traits favorable for ant pollination, such as short and aggregated inflorescences, and synchronized blooming as well as growing in an environment where ant pollination is likely to occur. Our results show that ants are the most abundant visitors throughout the day and that there is no effect of ant integument on pollen germination. Furthermore, the flower visitor exclusion experiment showed that ants have a role in the pollination of B. portulacoides by promoting seed formation. Ants can have an important part in the pollination of B. portulacoides in a scenario where winged insects are absent or scarce.

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Acknowledgments

We thank C. Zornosa and J. Carreira for field assistance, G. Q. Romero for comments on the experiments and P.S. Oliveira for valuable comments and insights. We also thank Universidade Estadual de Campinas for logistical support and Instituto Florestal do Estado de São Paulo for permission to work at Parque Estadual Serra do Mar—Núcleo Picinguaba (São Paulo, Brazil). We thank F. Cuezzo for help on identification of ant species, J. Vizentin-Bugoni, V. Brito as well as two anonymous reviewers for their contribution on writing this manuscript. This research was financed by Coordenação de Aperfeiçonamento de Pessoal de Ensino Superior (CAPES); JII and SFS were supported by a graduate and postdoctoral (respectively) fellowship from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, 2014/12486-8 and 2012/23399-3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, C.P. 6109, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-970, Brazil

    Javier Ibarra-Isassi

  2. Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, C.P. 6109, 13083-862, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Sebastián Felipe Sendoya

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  1. Javier Ibarra-Isassi
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  2. Sebastián Felipe Sendoya
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Correspondence to Javier Ibarra-Isassi.

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Ibarra-Isassi, J., Sendoya, S.F. Ants as floral visitors of Blutaparon portulacoides (A. St-Hil.) Mears (Amaranthaceae): an ant pollination system in the Atlantic Rainforest. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 10, 221–227 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-016-9429-9

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