On the identity and typification of Solanum brasilianum Dunal (Solanaceae)

The file attached is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor

Phenological Predictability Index in BRAHMS: A tool for herbarium-based phenological studies

Phenological Predictability Index (PPI) is a tool for analysing phenological patterns incorporating herbarium data within BRAHMS (Botanical Research and Herbarium Management System). PPI produces a maximum-activity period and associated event predictability index between ∼0 and 1. Simple, monthly random sampling showed the ideal number of unique records (event/month/year) is > 50. PPI correctly predicted the maximum-activity flowering month for seven out of eight species studied in the field, and was positively correlated (R 2= 0.610, p = 0.02) with phenophase length, even using suboptimum numbers of unique records. © 2011 The Authors

Influence of biological and social-historical variables on the time taken to describe an angiosperm.

Premise of the Study By convention, scientific naming of angiosperm species began in 1753; it is estimated that 10–20% of species remain undescribed. To complete this task before rare, undescribed species go extinct, a better understanding of the description process is needed. The South American Cerrado biodiversity hotspot was considered a suitable model due to a high diversity of plants, habitats, and social history of species description. Methods A randomized sample of 214 species (2% of the angiosperm fl ora) and 22 variables were analyzed using multivariate analyses and analysis of variance. Key Results Plants with wide global distributions, recorded from many areas, and above 2.6 m were described significantly earlier than narrowly distributed, uncommon species of smaller stature. The beginning of the career of the botanist who first collected the species was highly significant, with an average delay between first collection and description of 29 yr, and between type collection and description 19 yr; standard deviations were high and rose over time. Over a third of first collections were not cited in descriptions. Trends such as scientific specialization and decline of undescribed species were highlighted. Descriptions that involved potential collaboration between collectors and authors were significantly slower than those that did not. Conclusions Results support four recommendations to hasten discovery of new species: (1) preferential collecting of plants below 2.6 m, at least in the Cerrado; (2) access to undetermined material in herbaria; (3) fieldwork in areas where narrow-endemic species occur; (4) fieldwork by knowledgeable botanists followed by descriptive activity by the same.</p

Indirect interactions between invasive and native plants via pollinators

In generalised pollination systems, the presence of alien plant species may change the foraging behaviour of pollinators on native plant species, which could result in reduced reproductive success of native plant species. We tested this idea of indirect interactions on a small spatial and temporal scale in a field study in Mauritius, where the invasive strawberry guava, Psidium cattleianum, provides additional floral resources for insect pollinators. We predicted that the presence of flowering guava would indirectly and negatively affect the reproductive success of the endemic plant Bertiera zaluzania, which has similar flowers, by diverting shared pollinators. We removed P. cattleianum flowers within a 5-m radius from around half the B. zaluzania target plants (treatment) and left P. cattleianum flowers intact around the other half (control). By far, the most abundant and shared pollinator was the introduced honey bee, Apis mellifera, but its visitation rates to treatment and control plants were similar. Likewise, fruit and seed set and fruit size and weight of B. zaluzania were not influenced by the presence of P. cattleianum flowers. Although other studies have shown small-scale effects of alien plant species on neighbouring natives, we found no evidence for such negative indirect interactions in our system. The dominance of introduced, established A. mellifera indicates their replacement of native insect flower visitors and their function as pollinators of native plant species. However, the pollination effectiveness of A. mellifera in comparison to native pollinators is unknown