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Reproductive ecology of Ameroglossum pernambucense (Scrophulariaceae): is this ornithophilous and threatened shrub highly adapted to a naturally fragmented habitat?

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Abstract

Many rare plants exist in a naturally fragmented distribution and are expected to exhibit reproductive adaptations to isolation. Thus, understanding the reproduction of these plants might be important in predicting the future of artificially fragmented species. Ameroglossum pernambucense is a threatened ornithophilous shrub with naturally fragmented populations on granite outcrops in north-eastern Brazil. The current research studied two populations of A. pernambucense and determined if three reproductive features (mating system, flowering phenology and nectar dynamics) facilitate the colonisation of new areas and the gene flow among the outcrops. To verify the species’ reproductive efficiency, pollinator efficiency and pollen limitation were tested. Ameroglossum pernambucense has a mixed mating system, and pollinators increased seed production. The pollinator efficiency test revealed that hummingbirds can supply the entire pollen demand. No pollen limitation was detected. Variation in sunset time was the main factor to explain the flowering pattern of A. pernambucense. Nectar was abundantly produced after successive removals. The reproductive traits observed in A. pernambucense were interpreted as highly adapted to its fragmented condition. Phenological photoperiodic regulation may increase the flowering synchrony and chances of gene flow among outcrops in environmentally distinct microsites. The mixed mating system favours both the colonisation of isolated outcrops and allogamy. High flower production and its high energetic value may have an important role in pollinator attraction and may increase long-distance outcrossing. Our data suggest that artificially fragmented plants with reproductive features similar to those observed here might be reproductively less susceptible to fragmentation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the Dr. Marcelo Sobral-Leite, for fruitful discussions, helping during field work and valuable suggestions; Dr. Oswaldo Cruz-Neto, for helping with the field analysis of nectar, Mr. Luís, Mr. José and Ms. Maria for kindly permitting research in their private properties, and Yuri Spetch and M.Scs. Weber Girão, for helping with statistical analyses and hummingbird identifications, respectively. The authors are also grateful to the Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE) for providing a master fellowship to the first author and for additional financial support (APQ–1096–2.03/08), and to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for research grants to AVL and ICM.

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  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Cidade Universitária s.n., Recife, PE, 50372-970, Brazil

    Artur Maia Wanderley, Ariadna Valentina Lopes & Isabel Cristina Machado

  2. Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Cidade Universitária s.n., Recife, PE, 50372-970, Brazil

    Ariadna Valentina Lopes & Isabel Cristina Machado

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  1. Artur Maia Wanderley
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  2. Ariadna Valentina Lopes
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  3. Isabel Cristina Machado
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Correspondence to Isabel Cristina Machado.

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Wanderley, A.M., Lopes, A.V. & Machado, I.C. Reproductive ecology of Ameroglossum pernambucense (Scrophulariaceae): is this ornithophilous and threatened shrub highly adapted to a naturally fragmented habitat?. Plant Syst Evol 300, 1099–1110 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-013-0948-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-013-0948-x

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