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Bee pollination and evidence of substitutive nectary in Anadenanthera colubrina (Leguminosae-Mimosoideae)

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Abstract

Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan (Leguminosae-Mimosoideae) is a widely-distributed tree in seasonally dry tropical forests of South America that was classified previously as lacking nectaries. However, some studies have stated that its flowers produce nectar, while others analyzed the composition of unifloral honey produced from A. colubrina flowers, raising the question about nectar production in the species. We studied the pollination and reproductive biology of A. colubrina var. cebil (Griseb.) Altschul in a natural population in the Caatinga, northeastern Brazil. Reproductive phenology, sexual system, floral biology, resource, and pollinators were investigated. We analyzed the breeding system through controlled pollinations for addressing its dependence on pollen vectors for reproduction. Anadenanthera colubrina flowered in the dry season, flower heads are heteromorphic, with staminate flowers at the base and perfect flowers at the apex of the inflorescence, characterizing andromonoecy. Anthesis is diurnal. We observed small drops of nectar at the apex of the petals of some flowers per inflorescence. Together with observations on flower visitor behavior and histochemical tests, we propose that A. colubrina produces floral nectar at the apex of the corolla, characterizing a substitutive nectary (sensu Vogel). This is the first record of substitutive nectary in the Mimosoideae and the first record of andromonoecy in the genus. Bees were the main pollinators (higher frequency), although other insects such as wasps, butterflies, and small beetles were also observed collecting nectar and/or pollen. The species is self-incompatible, thus depending on insect pollen vectors, mainly bees, for reproduction.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Instituto Agronômico de Pernambuco (IPA) for the permission to study on lands of the Estação Experimental de Serra Talhada; Gilcean Jones and Thamires Campos for help in field work; Carlos Eduardo Nobre for identifying the butterfly and Gisele Azevedo for identifying the wasp; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for funding through a PhD Fellowship to L. A. Borges; a Research Grant to I. C. Machado and A. V. Lopes, and financial support to A. V. Lopes (CNPq Grant Numbers 567739/2008-2; 307209/2010-5 and 308832/2014-0).

Funding

Funding was provided by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) through a PhD Fellowship to L. A. Borges, a Research Grant to I. C. Machado and A. V. Lopes, and financial support to A. V. Lopes (CNPq Grant Numbers 567739/2008-2; 307209/2010-5 and 308832/2014-0).

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  1. Laís Angélica Borges

    Present address: Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, Paraíba, 58397-000, Brazil

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670-901, Brazil

    Laís Angélica Borges

  2. Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670-901, Brazil

    Isabel Cristina Machado & Ariadna Valentina Lopes

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  1. Laís Angélica Borges
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  2. Isabel Cristina Machado
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  3. Ariadna Valentina Lopes
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Correspondence to Ariadna Valentina Lopes.

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Borges, L.A., Machado, I.C. & Lopes, A.V. Bee pollination and evidence of substitutive nectary in Anadenanthera colubrina (Leguminosae-Mimosoideae). Arthropod-Plant Interactions 11, 263–271 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-017-9514-8

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