scholarly journals A novel resource–service mutualism between bats and pitcher plants

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Ulmar Grafe ◽  
Caroline R. Schöner ◽  
Gerald Kerth ◽  
Anissa Junaidi ◽  
Michael G. Schöner
Keyword(s):  
Carnivorous Plant ◽  
Pitcher Plants ◽  
Pitcher Plant ◽  
Foliar Nitrogen ◽  
Dispersal Syndromes ◽  
First Case ◽  
Pollen And Seed Dispersal ◽  
Seed Dispersal Syndromes ◽  
Mutualistic Association ◽  
Resource Service

Mutualistic relationships between vertebrates and plants apart from the pollen and seed-dispersal syndromes are rare. At first view, carnivorous pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes seem to be highly unlikely candidates for mutualistic interactions with animals, as they form dimorphic terrestrial and aerial pitchers that trap arthropods and small vertebrates. Surprisingly, however, the aerial pitchers of Nepenthes rafflesiana variety elongata are poor insect traps, with low amounts of insect-attractive volatile compounds and low amounts of digestive fluid. Here, we show that N. rafflesiana elongata gains an estimated 33.8 per cent of the total foliar nitrogen from the faeces of Hardwicke's woolly bats ( Kerivoula hardwickii hardwickii ) that exclusively roost in its aerial pitchers. This is the first case in which the faeces-trapping syndrome has been documented in a pitcher plant that attracts bats and only the second case of a mutualistic association between a carnivorous plant and a mammal to date.

EFFECTS OF FENITROTHION INSECTICIDE ON INHABITANTS OF LEAVES OF THE PITCHER PLANT, SARRACENIA PURPUREA L.

1987 ◽  
Vol 119 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 647-652 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.L. Fairchild ◽  
D.C. Eidt ◽  
C.A.A. Weaver
Keyword(s):  
Sarracenia Purpurea ◽  
Pitcher Plants ◽  
Pitcher Plant ◽  
Wyeomyia Smithii ◽  
Metriocnemus Knabi

AbstractBy injecting fenitrothion into fluid in leaves of pitcher plants, Sarracenia purpurea L., it was determined that the mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii (Coquillett), and the midge, Metriocnemus knabi (Coquillett), are under some risk from fenitrothion forest sprays at the rate of 210 g AI/ha. Wyeomyia smithii is slightly more susceptible than is M. knabi. Other leaf inhabitants, mites and rotifers, were not affected by initial concentrations of fenitrothion in the fluid (up to 9.6 μg/L) that did affect the mosquito and the midge.

scholarly journals A numerical analysis of Ephedra L. based on reproductive features

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Yang
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Analysis ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
Reproductive Organs ◽  
Old World ◽  
Geographic Ranges ◽  
Dispersal Syndromes ◽  
Plant Taxon ◽  
Seed Dispersal Syndromes

A numerical analysis of Ephedra L. was conducted based on 29 characters of reproductive organs. The results indicate that species are not grouped according to their geographic ranges, sect. Alatae is in one group, sect. Asarca excluding E. cutleri and E. viridis consists of a Eu-asarca group while sect. Ephedra plus E. cutleri and E. viridis of the traditional sect. Asarca make up a third expanded Ephedra group. The Old World sect. Monospermae including E. rhytidosperma, E. equisetina, E. nebrodensis, E. monosperma and E. procera was rediscovered in this study while those Himalayan endemic species (e.g. E. minuta, E. likiangensis, E. saxatilis, E. dawuensis and E. gerardiana) used to be grouped in the Old World sect. Monospermae are clustered together with sect. Scandentes including E. foeminea, E. ciliata, E. altissima and E. fragilis. This study further confirms that the adaptive seed dispersal syndromes of sect. Asarca have originated for not only once. Some new features are introduced as related to dispersal, e.g. weight and size of seeds, and nature and thickness of the outer envelope.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v20i1.15464Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 20(1): 51-60, 2013 (June) 

scholarly journals The white-topped pitcher plant—a case of precarious abundance

Oryx ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 201-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
George W. Folkerts
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Domestic Market ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Pitcher Plants ◽  
Pitcher Plant ◽  
Great Demand ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Floral Displays

White-topped pitcher plants, among the most attractive members of the genus Sarracenia, are in great demand for floral displays, in the USA and Europe. It is doubtful whether current levels of exploitation are sustainable; there is no way of controlling harvesting for the domestic market and the monitoring of exports is difficult. As well as this pressure, wild populations are perhaps in even greater danger from changes in land use.

scholarly journals Nectar, not colour, may lure insects to their death

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine F. Bennett ◽  
Aaron M. Ellison
Keyword(s):  
Prey Capture ◽  
Carnivorous Plant ◽  
Sugar Solution ◽  
Sarracenia Purpurea ◽  
Pitcher Plants ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Red Coloration ◽  
Nectar Availability

We experimentally demonstrate in the field that prey of the carnivorous plant Sarracenia purpurea are attracted to sugar, not to colour. Prey capture (either all taxa summed or individual common taxa considered separately) was not associated with total red area or patterning on pitchers of living pitcher plants. We separated effects of nectar availability and coloration using painted ‘pseudopitchers’, half of which were coated with sugar solution. Unsugared pseudopitchers captured virtually no prey, whereas pseudopitchers with sugar solution captured the same amount of prey as living pitchers. In contrast to a recent study that associated red coloration with prey capture but that lacked controls for nectar availability, we infer that nectar, not colour, is the primary means by which pitcher plants attract prey.

scholarly journals Bacteria facilitate prey retention by the pitcher plant Darlingtonia californica

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 20160577 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Armitage
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Physical Properties ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Surface Tensions ◽  
Pitcher Plants ◽  
Pitcher Plant ◽  
Plant Microbe Interaction

Bacteria are hypothesized to provide a variety of beneficial functions to plants. Many carnivorous pitcher plants, for example, rely on bacteria for digestion of captured prey. This bacterial community may also be responsible for the low surface tensions commonly observed in pitcher plant digestive fluids, which might facilitate prey capture. I tested this hypothesis by comparing the physical properties of natural pitcher fluid from the pitcher plant Darlingtonia californica and cultured ‘artificial’ pitcher fluids and tested these fluids' prey retention capabilities. I found that cultures of pitcher leaves' bacterial communities had similar physical properties to raw pitcher fluids. These properties facilitated the retention of insects by both fluids and hint at a previously undescribed class of plant–microbe interaction.

COLLECTION OF THE PITCHERPLANT MOSQUITO, WYEOMYIA SMITHII (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE), FROM SASKATCHEWAN

1971 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 886-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Burgess ◽  
J. G. Rempel
Keyword(s):  
Pitcher Plants ◽  
Pitcher Plant ◽  
Wyeomyia Smithii

AbstractLarvae of Wyeomyia smithii (Coquillett) were collected in Saskatchewan from pitcher-plants in swamps near Nipawin, Little Sandy Lake, and Waskesiu. Pupae and adults also were collected at Nipawin. No trace of W. smithii was found in pitcher-plants in a swamp near Duck Lake. Inconclusive evidence was obtained concerning the presence of W. smithii in a pitcher-plant swamp at Prince Albert.

Prey composition of the pitcher plant Nepenthes madagascariensis

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Rembold ◽  
Eberhard Fischer ◽  
Markus A. Wetzel ◽  
Wilhelm Barthlott
Keyword(s):  
Carnivorous Plant ◽  
Eastern Coast ◽  
Pitcher Plant ◽  
Trap Frequency ◽  
Flying Insects ◽  
Prey Composition ◽  
Prey Items

Abstract:Nepenthes madagascariensis is a carnivorous plant which captures its prey in pitcher-like leaves. It is endemic to Madagascar where it occurs along the eastern coast. Altogether 94.3% of its prey animals belong to three taxa: Formicidae (80.2%), Diptera (9.7%) and Coleoptera (4.4%). The prey compositions of the dimorphic lower and upper pitcher types differ significantly, especially in the markedly higher proportion of ants in lower pitchers and the higher number of flying insects in upper pitchers. A comparison concerning the trap frequency of taxa with literature data from Asian Nepenthes species showed that the upper pitchers of N. madagascariensis contained much higher proportions of Coleoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera; these differences may partly be due to seasonal reasons. No significant correlation could be established between the numbers of prey items with pitcher size. This paper is the first characterization of the prey composition of the little known N. madagascariensis.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document