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Pollinators of Syntopic Marcgravia Species in Costa Rican Lowland Rain Forest: Bats and Opossums
Author(s) -
Tschapka M.,
Helversen O.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
plant biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.871
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1438-8677
pISSN - 1435-8603
DOI - 10.1111/j.1438-8677.1999.tb00720.x
Subject(s) - pollinator , nectar , biology , pollination , phenology , frugivore , rainforest , ecology , inflorescence , pollen , habitat
The visitors of four syntopically occurring species of Marcgravia (M. nervosa, M. serrae, M. mexicana , and M. nepen‐thoides ) in the Atlantic lowland rain forest at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica were observed. The four species differed in flowering phenology and morphology of inflorescences. Flowers of all species opened during the night and the stamens dropped before dawn. All species were visited by small nectar‐feeding bats (Phyllostomidae: Glossophaginae). Marcgrovia nepen‐thoides , with much larger nectaries, additionally attracted two species of opossums, Caluromys derbianus and Didelphis marsu‐pious . Judging from the large distance between nectaries and flowers, glossophagine bats probably are inefficient pollinators of this species, and merely exploit a non‐flying mammal pollination system.