Abstract

LEON-CAMARGO, DANIEL  and  RANGEL-CH., J. ORLANDO. Hummingbird-flower interaction in three remnants of tropical dry forest (TdF) in the municipality of Chimichagua (Cesar, Colombia). Caldasia [online]. 2015, vol.37, n.1, pp.107-123. ISSN 0366-5232.  https://doi.org/10.15446/caldasia.v37n1.50812.

Based on the floral visits and palynological analyzes, we characterized the hummingbird-plant interaction in three tropical dry forest remnants (BsT) located in the municipality of Chimichagua (Cesar, Colombia). We used mist nets to capture hummingbirds and binoculars for observations. The flowering time and number of flowers produced by the plants visited by hummingbirds, as well as data on the quantity and quality of nectar were recorded. The sampling period (five months) covered climate variability in the study area. Two species of hummingbirds, Lepidopyga goudoti and Phaethornis anthophilus, visited 31 plant species.Arrabidaea cf. corallina, which is present in the three forests patches, was the most important resource (IVIR = 0.14840) followed by Aphelandra pulcherrima (IVIR = 0.05356) and Pogonopus speciosus (IVIR = 0.02773). Another important species with low value was Cochlospermum vitifolium. According to the analysis of pollen loads, the most important resource was Pogonopus speciosus (IVIR = 0.29643), followed by Aphelandra pulcherrima (IVIR = 0.09286) and Hemistylus cf. odontophylla (IVIR = 0.03294). In the overall analysis for the three sites, the most important resources for hummingbirds were Pogonopus speciosus (IVIR = 0.06207), Aphelandra pulcherrima (IVIR = 0.06021) and Cochlospermum vitifolium (IVIR = 0.01095). Lepidopyga goudoti used 22 plant species while P. anthophilus used only seven. The flowers visited by hummingbirds were mostly tubular with bright contrasting colors, such as red, purple, and violet, and their sizes and lengths matched the hummingbirds' bill. Hummingbirds also visited white and yellow flowers, such as Cochlospermum vitifolium, Sterculia apetala, and Ceiba pentandra, which are listed as species adapted to pollination by insects. In the analysis of the pollen loads of L. goudoti we found pollen from all plant species that appeared as important resources according to the intensity of use whereas Phaethornis anthophilus used only six species.

Keywords : Hummingbird; polinization; ecological interactions; tropical dry forest.

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