Departamento de Biologia Celular, Embriologia e Genética, CCB, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
Plant Biol (Stuttg). 2011 Jan;13 Suppl 1:41-50. doi: 10.1111/j.1438-8677.2010.00348.x.
In order to compare the effectiveness of birds and insects as pollinators, we studied the floral biology of the bromeliad Aechmea nudicaulis (L.) Grisebach in the biome of the Atlantic rain forest, southern Brazil. On Santa Catarina Island, flowering extends from mid-September to the end of December, with diurnal anthesis. The reproductive system is obligatory xenogamy, thus pollinator-dependent. Flowers secrete 31.84 μl of nectar per day, with a mean sugar concentration of 23.2%. Highest nectar volume and sugar concentration occur at the beginning of anthesis. Most floral traits are characteristic for ornithophily, and nectar production appears to be adapted to the energy demand of hummingbirds. Continued secretion of the sucrose-dominated nectar attracts and binds visitors to inflorescences, strengthening trapline foraging behaviour. Experiments assessing seed set after single flower visits were performed with the most frequent visitors, revealing the hummingbird Thalurania glaucopis as the most effective pollen vector. In addition, bees are also functional pollinators, as substantiated by their high visitation frequency. We conclude that this pollination system is bimodal. Thus, there is redundancy in the pollination service provided by birds and bees, granting a high probability of successful reproduction in Ae. nudicaulis.
为了比较鸟类和昆虫作为传粉者的有效性，我们研究了巴西南部大西洋雨林生物群落中的凤梨科植物 Aechmea nudicaulis (L.) Grisebach 的花部生物学。在圣卡塔琳娜岛，花期从 9 月中旬持续到 12 月底，白天开花。生殖系统是强制性异花授粉，因此依赖传粉者。花朵每天分泌 31.84 μl 的花蜜，平均糖浓度为 23.2%。花蜜量和糖浓度最高出现在开花初期。大多数花部特征都与虫媒传粉有关，花蜜的产生似乎适应了蜂鸟的能量需求。以蔗糖为主的花蜜持续分泌，吸引并束缚访客到花序上，加强了陷阱觅食行为。对最常访问的单个花朵进行的种子结实实验表明，蓝喉闪辉蜂鸟 Thalurania glaucopis 是最有效的花粉载体。此外，蜜蜂也是功能性传粉者，它们的高访问频率证明了这一点。我们得出结论，这种传粉系统是双模式的。因此，鸟类和蜜蜂提供的传粉服务存在冗余性，这使得 Ae. nudicaulis 有很高的繁殖成功概率。
