Journal ArticleDOI
Pollination of Androdioecious Xerospermum intermedium Radlk. (Sapindaceae) in a rain forest
TLDR
The physical barriers to pollinator movement in the understorey, and high interspecific competition for pollinators by a large number of tree species, appear to make it difficult to maintain an obligate outbreeding system.Abstract:
Xerospermum intermedium, a fairly common understorey species in the West Malesian lowland dipterocarp forest is androdioecious, with delayed self-compatibility. It flowers annually, and has an extended flowering period, with individuals flowering somewhat asynchronously, presenting small flowers with minimal visual lures. The flowers are visited by an unrestricted array of apparently imprecise opportunistic feeders, predominated by trigonid bees and butterflies. Most of these visitors exhibit low fidelity and forage opportunistically on numerous competing tree species. Presentation of nectar in alternating rhythms between the male and hermaphrodite trees appears to induce pollinator movement between them. Out of such alternating visits between the sexes, a low level of short-range inter-tree pollen transfer by trigonids and butterflies seems to occur. Despite the elaborate system which promotes pollinator movement between the sexes, this species has retained a low level of self-compatibility. The physical barriers to pollinator movement in the understorey, and high interspecific competition for pollinators by a large number of tree species, appear therefore to make it difficult to maintain an obligate outbreeding system. Hence, androdioecism may be one of the explanations for the survival of X. intermedium.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Bee foraging ranges and their relationship to body size.
TL;DR: Whether body size predicts foraging distance is determined and the equations presented can be used to predict foraging distances for many bee species, based on a simple measurement of body size.
Journal ArticleDOI
The role of stingless bees in crop pollination.
TL;DR: Aspects of their biology that impact on their potential for crop pollination are reviewed, including generalized flower visiting behavior of colonies, floral constancy of individual bees, flight range, and the importance of natural vegetation for maintaining local populations.
Journal ArticleDOI
Androdioecy and the evolution of dioecy
TL;DR: It is concluded that inbreeding avoidance is generally important in the evolution of dioecy, though reallocation of reproductive resources is also necessary.
Journal ArticleDOI
General flowering in the climax rain forests of South-east Asia
TL;DR: This long-intervalled flowering and fruiting phenology which dominates these lowland dipterocarp forests may have partly contributed to the lowered animal biomass frequently alluded to when these forests are compared with neotropical forests.
Journal ArticleDOI
Mass flowering of dipterocarp forests in the aseasonal tropics
TL;DR: The environmental cue for this irregular, but widespread mass flowering can be traced to a small dip of about 2° C below mean night-time temperature for 4 or 5 nights during El Nino events.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Comparative Phenological Studies of Trees in Tropical Wet and Dry Forests in the Lowlands of Costa Rica
TL;DR: The results of a comparative phenological investigation of the trees in Wet and Dry forest sites in lowland Costa Rica are reported here to provide a unified analysis of the leafing, flowering, and fruiting periodicities of most species at both sites.
Journal ArticleDOI
Evolution of Dioecy in Flowering Plants
TL;DR: It is argued that dioecy is not as rare as is generally assumed and in certain regions, among certain life forms, more than one fourth of all species may be dioECious (see below).
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Euglossine Bees as Long-Distance Pollinators of Tropical Plants
TL;DR: Euglossine bees may return to a nest from as far away as 23 kilometers in a tropical rain forest and may permit the existence of plant species whose densities have been forced very low by such things as competition and predators on seeds and seedlings.
Journal ArticleDOI
Breeding systems of tree species of a lowland tropical community.
TL;DR: A study on the breeding systems of tree species of a lowland tropical community to determine the relative proportions of self-compatible and selfincompatible species in the community.
Journal ArticleDOI
Ecology, Flowering Phenology, and Hummingbird Pollination of Some Costa Rican Heliconia Species
TL;DR: Nine hummingbird—pollinated species of Heliconia occur together at Finca La Selva, in the wet Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica, and appear to be specialized for pollination by either hermits on non—hermits, largely through components of the caloric phenotype.