Ecology and Evolution
2022
12
6
e8988
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8988
2045-7758
Andes; Campanulaceae; Centropogon; Eutoxeres; diversification; specialization; steady‐state flowering; trapline.
The Andean bellflowers comprise an explosive radiation correlated with shifts to specialized pollination. One diverse clade has evolved with extremely curved floral tubes and is predicted to be pollinated exclusively by one of two parapatric species of sicklebill hummingbirds (Eutoxeres). In this study, we focused on the floral biology of Centropogon granulosus, a bellflower thought to be specialized for pollination by Eutoxeres condamini, in a montane cloud forest site in southeastern Peru. Using camera traps and a pollination exclusion experiment, we documented E. condamini as the sole pollinator of C. granulosus. Visitation by E. condamini was necessary for fruit development. Flowering rates were unequivocally linear and conformed to the “steady-state” phenological type. Over the course of >1800 h of monitoring, we recorded 12 E. condamini visits totaling 42 s, indicating traplining behavior. As predicted by its curved flowers, C. granulosus is exclusively pollinated by buff-tailed sicklebill within our study area. We present evidence for the congruence of phenology and visitation as a driver of specialization in this highly diverse clade of Andean bellflowers.
© 2022 The Authors
Boehm, Mannfred M. A.; Guevara-Apaza, David; Jankowski,Jill E.; Cronk, Quentin C. B.
John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Maidstone, Reino Unido
Inglés
Articulo de revista academica