1 research outputs found
The predictive power of pollination syndromes: Passerine pollination in heterantherous Meriania macrophylla (Benth.) Triana (Melastomataceae)
The cloud forest species Meriania macrophylla (Benth.) Triana has pseudocampanu-
late flowers with bulbous stamen appendages, typical for the passerine pollination
syndrome found in the Melastomataceae tribe Merianieae. The species is further
characterized by strong stamen dimorphism (heteranthery), a condition otherwise
associated with pollen-rewarding bee-pollinated species (both in Melastomataceae
and beyond). In passerine-pollinated Merianieae, however, flowers usually only show
weak stamen dimorphism. Here, we conducted field and laboratory investigations to
determine the pollinators of M. macrophylla and assess the potential role of strong
heteranthery in this species. Our field observations in Costa Rica confirmed syn-
drome predictions and indeed proved pollination by passerine birds in M. macrophylla.
The large bulbous set of stamens functions as a food-body reward to the pollinating
birds, and as trigger for pollen release (bellows mechanism) as typical for the pas-
serine syndrome in Merianieae. In contrast to other passerine-pollinated Merianieae,
the second set of stamens has seemingly lost its rewarding and pollination function,
however. Our results demonstrate the utility of the pollination syndrome concept
even in light of potentially misleading traits such as strong heteranthery.Austrian Science Fund/[P-30669]/FWF/AustriaUCR::Vicerrector铆a de Investigaci贸n::Unidades de Investigaci贸n::Ciencias B谩sicas::Centro de Investigaci贸n en Estructuras Microsc贸picas (CIEMIC)UCR::Vicerrector铆a de Docencia::Ciencias B谩sicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de Biolog铆aUCR::Vicerrector铆a de Investigaci贸n::Unidades de Investigaci贸n::Ciencias B谩sicas::Centro de Investigaci贸n en Biodiversidad y Ecolog铆a Tropical (CIBET